Target CEO Awarded UCLA School of Management Honor

Target CEO and Board Chairman Brian Cornell was recently honored by his alma mater with the 2022 John Wooden Global Leadership Award.

Presented by the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the award is given each year to an “exceptional business leader whose leadership style and service to the community reflect the high standards of performance, integrity and ethical values for which Wooden was known.” Cornell accepted the award, which is named after the legendary UCLA basketball coach, last week at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

“I’ve always been in awe of his success and all of those national championships. But it’s how he won that made him a legend, with his unwavering focus on values and courageous leadership,” said Cornell. “His words and actions have inspired me each and every day of my life. I’ve sought to perform at my personal best while coaching my own team of hundreds of thousands of Target team members around the globe. Thank you for this award and for placing me alongside a group of incredible leaders, including several who have become mentors and very close friends.”

Cornell graduated from UCLA in 1981, and joined Target in 2014. He currently serves on the National Retail Federation’s executive committee and The Business Council and is non-executive chairman of the board for Yum! Brands. Last September, Cornell agreed to stay with Target as CEO until 2025.

As CEO of Target, Cornell recently said that the retailer’s private label business is “booming.” Three of Target’s brands, Brightroom, Mondo Llama and Favorite Day, were recently ranked among the top 10 fastest-growing private labels in 2022.

“Cornell was chosen as this year’s Wooden Award recipient in recognition of his visionary leadership, his philanthropy, his career-long advocacy of diversity and inclusion in corporate leadership and his commitment to establishing a positive and productive corporate culture to the benefit of Target’s team members and customers,” said the university.

Target operates more than 2,000 stores in the U.S.