# Brian Cornell

Brian C. Cornell (born c. 1959) is an American businessman, and the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Target Corporation. He is also non-executive chairman of Yum! Brands.

## Early life

Brian Cornell was born in 1959 in Queens, New York City. He grew up in a fatherless household from the age of six, and his mother was living on welfare due to heart disease. As a result, Cornell was mostly brought up by his maternal grandparents.
Cornell graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1981. Cornell attended the UCLA Anderson School of Management, attending in 1991.

## Career

Cornell was the chief marketing officer and an executive vice president of Safeway Inc., from 2004 to 2007. He was the CEO of Michaels from 2007 to 2009, CEO of Sam's Club from 2009 to 2012, and CEO of PepsiCo Americas Foods, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, from 2012 to 2014.
Cornell was on the board of directors of OfficeMax, from 2004 to 2007, and of The Home Depot, from 2008 to 2009. Cornell has been on the board of Centerplate and Polaris Industries. Cornell has been on the board of directors of Yum! Brands since September 2015. He is the chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, and a board member since 2015.
In August 2014, Cornell replaced Gregg Steinhafel as the chairman and CEO of Target. During his tenure, Cornell shut down the loss-incurring Target Canada. Cornell occasionally visits Target stores and asks guests about their shopping experiences. As CEO, Cornell has been featured by news outlets such as CNN, which described him as Target's "ace CEO" and crediting him with the business' strong growth in the 2010s. In 2019, Cornell was named CNN's "Business CEO of the Year".
Cornell was honored with "The Visionary" award by the National Retail Federation for 2022, given each year to "an outstanding retail industry leader".
In 2022, Target announced that their board of directors had eliminated the company’s mandatory retirement policy that would have forced the CEO to retire at age 65.
In 2023, Cornell's total compensation at Target was $18.1 million, or 719 times the median employee pay at Target for that year. He earned a higher annual bonus due to the company's improved profits, although his overall compensation dropped.

## Memberships and affiliations

Cornell is on the board of advisors of the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is on the board of directors for Catalyst and previously was a member on the museum council for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Cornell is also a member of The Business Council.

## Personal life

He is married to Martha Cornell. They have a daughter and a son. In 2021, Cornell and his wife made a $10 million donation to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida.

## Criticism and controversy

Diversity Equity and Inclusion Concerns
Brian Cornell publicly stated commitment to programs at Target to support diversity, equity and inclusion following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. He stated “I recognize that it’s time to take it to another level, and that as CEOs, we have to be the company’s head of diversity and inclusion." One of the created programs intended to help Black entrepreneurs develop, test, and scale products to sell at mass retailers promised to spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025.
In 2025, Target announced an abrupt change to these policies following an executive order from President Trump ordering a dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Target announced a halt to many programs designed to increase diversity equity and inclusion at Target. The company also said it would no longer participate in external diversity surveys, including the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index
Following Target's statement to roll back on equitable hiring practices, Twin Cities Pride announced Target would no longer be participating in the 2025 Pride Festival.