Enduring Excellence: A Conversation with Brian Cornell

Brian Cornell is the Executive Chair of Target’s Board of Directors. Prior to stepping into this role, Brian served as Target’s CEO and is credited for helping transform the iconic brand into a $100 billion omnichannel retailer. Under his leadership, Target grew to nearly 2,000 U.S. stores, operating a second headquarters location in India as well as global supply chain and sourcing offices.

Brian joined Target in 2014 and quickly established a strategic direction that placed the company’s popular stores at the center of physical shopping and digital fulfillment. That vision and the acquisition of Shipt catapulted Target into a leadership position in same-day, store-based fulfillment services. As a result, Target grew by tens of billions of dollars during his tenure—a period fueled by a profitable digital business, an owned brand portfolio that grew to $30 billion, a third-party marketplace that surpassed $1 billion and a rapidly growing advertising business. Brian also spearheaded investments in wages, benefits, team training and development to make Target a destination for top talent and career growth.

In 2025, Brian was inducted into the World Retail Congress Hall of Fame. In recent years, UCLA honored Brian with the John Wooden Global Leadership Award for exemplifying the integrity, ethics and leadership for which Coach Wooden was known. He also received the Yale Legend in Leadership award, the Deming Cup for Operational Excellence from Columbia Business School, “The Visionary” award from the National Retail Federation, and Top CEO of the Year recognition by CNN.

Prior to joining Target, Brian spent more than 30 years in senior leadership positions at companies including Safeway before becoming CEO of Michaels, Sam’s Club, and PepsiCo Americas Foods. He currently serves as chair of The Business Council, is the non-executive chairman of the board for Yum! Brands and previously served on the National Retail Federation’s executive committee.

Tyler Mathisen is one of the nation’s most respected business news journalists and interviewers. For more than 27 years, he was a news anchor and co-anchor for CNBC, the world’s top business news television channel. In that time he hosted or co-hosted virtually every program on the CNBC schedule, most recently “Power Lunch,” one of the network’s longest running program franchises. His coverage credits include: the bursting of the so-called “market bubble” in 2000; the 9-11 terror attacks; the financial crisis of 2007-2009; and the Covid-19 pandemic and its profound business impact. Additionally, he was CNBC’s Vice President of Events Strategy. In that role, he helped map the company’s initiatives in the live events business, virtual and in person.

Previously, Mathisen was Managing Editor of CNBC Business News, responsible for directing the network’s daily content and coverage, and Vice President for Strategic Editorial Initiatives.

He also co-anchored “Nightly Business Report,” an award-winning evening business news program produced by CNBC for U.S. public television. In 2014, NBR was named best radio/TV show by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW).

Mathisen also reported multiple one-hour documentaries for the network including “Best Buy: The Big Box Fights Back,” “Supermarkets Inc: Inside a $500 Billion Money Machine” and “Death: It’s a Living,” which won SABEW’s 2014 “Best in Business” award for best radio/TV feature or field report. He was also the host and chief correspondent of two CNBC series, “How I Made My Millions” and “High Net Worth.”

Before joining CNBC in 1997, Mathisen spent 15 years as a writer, senior editor and top editor for Money magazine. He also served as Money Editor for ABC’s “Good Morning America” from 1991 to 1997.

A native of Arlington, Va., Mathisen graduated with distinction with a degree in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.

Mary N. Dillon is the incoming Board Chair of Save the Children US.

Until September 2025, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a board director of Foot Locker, Inc. With over four decades of experience in consumer marketing and operations, Mary has held CEO and leadership positions at globally acclaimed companies. Notably, she is one of only three female CEOs to helm two Fortune 500 companies. Mary’s leadership style is renowned within the retail industry because of her ability to create work cultures where leaders’ and front-line associates’ ideas are valued, solicited and respected, resulting in optimal enterprise solutions.

Before joining Foot Locker, Mary served as CEO and a member of the board of directors at Ulta Beauty for eight years. Her previous roles include President and CEO of US Cellular and Global Chief Marketing Officer at McDonald’s Corporation, where she served for five years. She also held executive positions at PepsiCo, including President of Quaker Foods and VP of Marketing for Quaker Foods and Gatorade.

Mary serves on the Board of Directors at KKR & Co. Inc., a global investment company, and previously served on the Board of Directors at Starbucks Corporation. A native of Chicago, Mary is actively involved in community engagement and philanthropy, previously serving as Chair of the Economic Club of Chicago.

Mary holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and Asian studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She and her husband Terry live the in the Chicago area, have four children, and are enjoying their first grandchild.