Target CEO to Step Down

With sales lagging, retiring Ulrich will give way to president Steinhafel
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2008 5:32 PM CST
Target CEO to Step Down
A customer checks out at a Target store in Lombard, Ill., in this Dec. 6, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, file)   (Associated Press)

Target CEO Bob Ulrich, 65, will retire May 1, to be replaced by the president Gregg Steinhafel, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though Target almost tripled sales during Ulrich's 13-year tenure, it's recently had a run of weak sales. "Our board and I have great confidence in Gregg as the next chief executive officer of Target," Ulrich said.

"I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from one of the best leaders in the retail industry," says Steinhafel, 52. Target has been hit by the downturn in consumer spending on luxuries and gifts. It's also under pressure from William Ackman—dubbed an "activist investor" by the Journal—to cut costs or sell some of the company's divisions. (More Bob Ulrich stories.)

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