Activists target Target board, press shareholders to oust Cornell, Leahy

A shareholder revolt has put Target’s boardroom reset back in play, with Trillium Asset Management urging investors to vote against Executive Chair Brian Cornell and Lead Independent Director Christine Leahy at the company’s annual meeting in June. The campaign landed just as Target is trying to sell shareholders on Michael Fiddelke as the right leader for its next chapter, making the vote more than a governance exercise, and more like a test of how much continuity investors will tolerate.

Trillium’s May 13 exempt solicitation said Target’s performance problems stem from years of strategic and operational missteps. It argued that keeping Cornell in the boardroom as executive chair and special adviser amounts to “continuity without correction,” and said that retention carries a significant financial cost while weakening both management and board independence. The group is not soliciting proxies, but it is clearly trying to shape the June 10 outcome before shareholders log on to the virtual meeting at 12:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time.

For Target workers, the fight matters because board pressure often shows up later in the store. When investors push for a faster reset, that can mean tighter payroll, faster remodel timelines, sharper inventory expectations, more pressure on store leaders to hit productivity targets, and less patience for slow fixes in guest experience. Cornell’s presence is especially sensitive because he led Target before Fiddelke took over as chief executive on Feb. 1, 2026, after the succession was announced on Aug. 20, 2025.

Target’s proxy statement is defending the transition and the broader board refresh. The company said it is confident Fiddelke is the right leader for the next chapter, and it highlighted four strategic priorities: sharpening merchandising authority, elevating the guest experience, accelerating technology, and strengthening team and communities. It also said it is adding two new independent directors, Stephen Bratspies and John Hoke III, while Douglas Baker and Grace Puma will not seek reelection and Donald Knauss will retire at the annual meeting.

The financial backdrop gives the activist campaign extra weight. Target’s 2025 annual report showed net sales of $104.780 billion, down 1.7% year over year, operating income of $5.117 billion, down 8.1%, net earnings of $3.705 billion, down 9.4%, and diluted EPS of $8.13, down 8.2%. The company has said it expects about 2% net sales growth in 2026 and operating income margin about 20 basis points higher than the 4.6% adjusted margin rate in 2025, while also planning more than $2 billion in incremental investments across the business. The June vote will show whether shareholders back that continuity plan or demand a harder break from the Cornell era.