Cara Sylvester is the executive vice president and chief guest experience officer for Target Corporation. In this role, Cara is focused on deepening guest engagement, attracting new shoppers and overseeing Target’s well-loved and powerful brand by driving connection across pivotal capabilities that underpin Target’s distinctive guest experience. She leads the teams responsible for the retailer’s marketing, media and creative strategy, as well as its e-commerce business, including user experience, product and operations. Cara also oversees the company’s loyalty efforts as part of Target Circle, and its in-house media company, Roundel.
Cara joined Target in 2007 and has held a variety of leadership roles with the company. In recent years, she directed the evolution of Target’s omnichannel shopping experience by forging strong connections between the retailer’s marketing, digital and technology capabilities, including the strategic application of generative AI. Prior to that, she served as senior vice president of home. In this role, she drove significant sales and share growth while increasing the category’s digital penetration to a leading position within the company. In her role as vice president of beauty, Cara led the launch and evolution of Target’s Beauty Concierge program, a high-touch service model that was the first of its kind among mass retailers. Before joining Target, Cara worked at Deloitte Consulting in Chicago.
Cara is a member of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum advisory council.
She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.