• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 25, 2024

Target is shaking up its executive ranks, shuffling the roles of three long-time leaders. Lisa Roath, who has been chief marketing officer for less than a year, is moving to the role of chief merchandising officer of food, essentials and beauty, effective early next year. She will continue to oversee marketing as the company opens up the search for its next CMO. Christina Hennington, now chief growth officer, moves to chief strategy and growth officer, and Rick Gomez, currently chief food, essentials and beauty officer, will become chief commercial officer.

"We're putting key leaders and capabilities in place to sustain profitable growth over the long term,” says Brian Cornell, chair and chief executive officer, in the announcement. "As Rick takes on full oversight of merchandising, Christina will be dedicated to keeping our strategy consumer-centric, differentiated and future-focused. Lisa will be an important addition to Rick's leadership team when she moves into her new role in 2025, bringing her prior experience and accomplishments leading our food and essentials businesses. In the meantime, we'll conduct a thorough search for a top brand marketer to succeed Lisa and build on our strong marketing foundation."

Roath has been with the Minneapolis-based retailer for nearly two decades and was promoted to CMO last July. Before that, she held key positions in food, beverage, and essentials, and most recently, she helped launch “Target Lady” and “That Target Feeling,” two separate brand campaigns.

Hennington joined Target in 2003 and has been on the leadership team since 2020. Gomez joined the retailer in 2013 and ascended to the leadership team in 2017, and played a major role in the launch of Roundel, Target’s retail media ad network.

Earlier this year, Target introduced major changes to its guest experience approach, all designed to lead to revenue growth and expanded market share. Those include expanding the Target Circle loyalty program to three tiers, including Target Circle 360, a paid membership that competes with similar offers to rivals Walmart and Amazon. It also pledged renewed investments in its store brands, which currently account for $30 billion in annual sales. That includes the launch of Dealworthy, offering 400 everyday basics in apparel and accessories, beauty and essentials, with most items under $10.

The company has also stepped up investments in its stores-as-delivery-hubs model and added 300 new stores.