Last week, more than 2,600 team members and leaders gathered in Bangalore, India for the Target India Annual Meeting to celebrate wins from the past year, reflect on the challenges, and rally together ahead of the big holiday season. Our team in India supports nearly every area of the business—including technology, merchandising, marketing, supply chain and more—helping Target work quickly and efficiently.

This year, similar to Target’s Fall National Week in Minneapolis, Target India’s events took place over a full week and included guest speakers, team-building activities, traditional ceremonies and time to connect with leaders. Brian Cornell, Target’s chairman and CEO, joined Target India President Navneet Kapoor and several members of Target’s leadership team for the events, including an all-team business meeting featuring three show-stopping dance numbers—all performed by team members! Check out a few of the highlights:

As the week kicked off, an Indian folk artist strolled through the corridors of Target’s Robert J. Ulrich Center in Bangalore playing a Punjabi dhol. Team members fell into procession behind him, dancing and taking photos. Later that morning, Navneet and the drummer led the team as they inaugurated the week-long festivities.

Throughout the week, the team got plenty of face time with Target leaders. They met for breakfast-and-coffee chat sessions with Tammy Redpath, senior vice president, creative and marketing operations, Thom Lewis, vice president, site merchandising, Ann Florell, vice president, human resources and several of Target India’s pyramid leaders.

On a day focused on business and innovation, the team welcomed guest speakers. Nivruti Rai (above left), general manager, Intel India and vice president, Platform Engineering Group, Intel Corp., spoke about the importance of loyalty and trust in business. “Giving opportunities, visibility and credit are integral to inspire loyalty in teams,” she said. Hari Menon (above right), CEO and co-founder of Big Basket, an online grocery business, shared lessons from his entrepreneurial journey. “Look for an ecosystem before venturing into business. Often what exists in the name of an ecosystem is a lot of noise. Know the difference—it is crucial to pivot at the right time.”

Team members also took part in a Target Accelerator Demo Day event featuring seven startups in the retail space that graduated from the program.

Teams welcomed special guests Reeth Abraham (above right), former South Asian Games long-jump and 100-meters-hurdles champion, and Nisha Millet (above left), Arjuna award-winning swimmer, to discuss topics of diversity and wellness. An avid marathon runner, Reeth spoke about the need to stay focused on personal fitness and wellness. “Nothing can stop you if you set your mind on a goal and give it your 100 percent.” Nisha drew parallels between sports and life, talking about diversity, running a successful swimming academy, parenting twins and staying fit.

On Oct. 6, team members gathered at Bangalore’s White Orchid Convention Center for the big meeting, featuring talks from Brian, Navneet, Mike McNamara, chief information officer, and Stephanie Lundquist, chief human resources officer. The leaders also joined team members for the final dance number. “The passion and energy of this team is absolutely energizing,” Stephanie said.

It was a full house for an Outer Spaces innovation talk with legendary former Indian cricketer and captain, Rahul Dravid, who shared his learnings about leadership, team and humility. The visually-challenged T20 World Champion cricket team from the Samarthanam Trust were on hand for Rahul’s presentation, and later challenged Target India’s cricket team to a friendly match, organized by about 100 of our volunteers. The Target India team won by a narrow margin, chasing 80 runs in eight overs, in the last over.

The teams finished off a great week as they joined leaders in various volunteer activities. Some of the volunteers knitted woolen caps and put together 210 care packages for children undergoing cancer treatment at a local hospital. Others helped make and distribute 370 lunches for the staff at the Embassy Manyata Tech Park, a community space for cultural and sporting events.

Want to see more of the fun? Check out the hashtag #WeAreTarget for more of our team members’ posts from the week.

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