Board Skills & Diversity
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide general Board membership criteria, including:
- Directors are to have broad perspective, experience, knowledge, and independent judgment, and a high degree of interest and involvement.
- The Board as a whole should consist predominantly of persons with strong business backgrounds that span multiple industries.
- The Board seeks directors who can bring different sets of experiences and perspectives to the Board.
The Board believes that its members' collective backgrounds, skills, and experiences make it well-qualified to exercise oversight responsibilities on behalf of Target’s shareholders. The following describes key characteristics of our business, desired skills for overseeing those business characteristics, and director qualifications for possessing those skills for each independent member of our Board nominated for election at the 2026 annual meeting of shareholders. The Governance & Sustainability Committee uses the general membership criteria listed in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, along with the desired skills and qualifications to identify, screen, and recruit director candidates and make director nomination recommendations to the full Board.
Retail industry experience
Target is a large retailer that offers everyday essentials and on-trend, differentiated merchandise at discounted prices in stores and through digital channels.
Senior leadership
Target’s scale and complexity requires strong leadership to align our team, technology, and operations across many areas, including marketing, merchandising, design, supply chain, fulfillment, real estate and finance.
Marketing / Design / Brands
Target's brand and focus on style and design are the cornerstones of our strategy to offer a preferred shopping experience for our guests that differentiates us in the marketplace.
Human capital management
We have a large and global workforce, which represents one of our key resources, as well as one of our largest operating expenses.
Capital deployment
Leveraging our stores-as-hubs to efficiently provide an engaging, convenient, safe, and differentiated shopping experience for guests, whether they purchase online or physically in-store, requires significant capital deployment, a large network of facilities and real estate, and effective resource allocation to support our business and infrastructure needs at scale.
Global supply chain
Our business involves sourcing merchandise domestically and internationally from numerous vendors and distributing it through our fulfillment network.
Digital tools / Technology
Maintaining and enhancing our relevancy to deepen our engagement with guests requires the use and deployment of digital tools and technology, including through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), to support many aspects of our operations, including loyalty programs, merchandising and fulfillment.
Information security / Data privacy
Securing and appropriately handling the information we receive and store about our guests, Team Members, vendors and other third parties is important to us.
Financial management
We are a large public company with a disciplined approach to financial management and accurate disclosure.
Risk management
We are subject to a variety of risks and seek to identify, assess, and manage those risks for the long-term success of our business and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations.
Reputation management
To be successful, we must preserve, grow, and leverage the value of our reputation with our guests, Team Members, vendors, and our shareholders and appropriately respond to crisis events affecting them.
Sustainability and governance
We seek to identify and assess the sustainability and governance matters that will help fortify our business and drive growth and value creation for our business and our shareholders.
Independent director skills matrix
Retail industry experience
Executive officer level experience or service on the board of directors at a large retail or consumer products company.
Senior leadership
Experience in an executive officer level role or senior government leadership role.
Marketing / Design / Brands
Executive officer level experience in design, merchandising, marketing or managing well-known brands or the types of consumer products we sell, or service on the board of directors of a marketing, design-led or consumer products company.
Human capital management
Executive officer level experience managing a large or global workforce or experience on a board of directors overseeing those functions.
Capital deployment
Experience with capital deployment for business operations, real estate transactions or property management, or mergers and acquisitions; actively supervising someone performing similar functions; or service on a board of directors overseeing those functions.
Global supply chain
Executive officer level experience or service on the board of directors of a company with global supply chain operations.
Digital tools / Technology
Experience in digital platforms, digital media, data analytics or AI technologies and management; actively supervising someone performing similar functions; or service on the board of directors of a digital platforms, digital media, data analytics or technology company.
Information security / Data privacy
Experience in information security, cybersecurity, or data privacy; actively supervising someone performing similar functions; or service on a board of directors overseeing those functions.
Financial management
Qualification as an “audit committee financial expert” under applicable SEC rules; executive officer level experience in financial management, reporting, or planning and analysis; or experience on a board of directors overseeing any of those finance functions.
Risk management
Executive officer level experience in enterprise risk management; actively supervising someone performing similar functions; or service on a board of directors overseeing those functions.
Reputation management
Experience in community relations, public service, government affairs, corporate governance, or crisis response; actively supervising someone performing similar functions; or service on a board of directors overseeing any of those functions.
Sustainability and governance
Experience in strategies supporting business resiliency matters and long-term value creation; actively supervising someone performing similar functions; or service on a board of directors overseeing business resiliency matters.