There are often two ways a CEO of a public company rides off into the sunset.

One is when the CEO realizes they can't do more at a company and that current results are as good as they are likely to get in the near term.

They hand the reins to someone younger, a candidate who has been developed over the years to wade into rejiggering an already finely tuned operation.

In this case, the grizzled veteran CEO will usually slip into an executive chairman role for a year to oversee their pupil.

Another way is to recognize that it's time for a change in voice or a new generation, if you will, for the good of the company and shareholders.

The situation for longtime Target (TGT) CEO and chairman Brian Cornell looks to be an amalgamation of both. And how Cornell and the Target board — comprised of former CEOs of UPS (UPS), Clorox (CLX), Safeway, and Cardinal Health (CAH) — act could set the tone for the next decade as the chain tries to reclaim market share from Walmart (WMT) and thwart the new world order of tariffs.

Somewhat lost in the retailer's brutal first quarter results (a recurring theme for Target since last year) is the announcement of a new "multi-year Enterprise Acceleration Office."

Target said this is more than just corporate jargon. The office will be led by COO Michael Fiddelke, the former Target intern who started at the retailer in 2003 and rose to CFO before his current title.

Fiddelke — who has the same calm demeanor as Cornell — will be tasked with improving operating efficiencies throughout the company and driving faster decision making at the top.

In effect, Fiddelke is now leading one of the most important initiatives at the company while still being COO and reporting directly to Cornell. If he can get Target back to efficient earnings growth, Fiddelke may be handed the keys to the kingdom.

With more results like the ones over the past five quarters, the board may be inclined to look outside the existing management team for a new CEO. It would be similar to what happened more than 10 years ago when Cornell was brought in.

A decision on the CEO position could be coming soon.

In September 2022, Target scrapped its CEO retirement age of 65. Cornell signed on for three more years, making 2025 the year when a successor could be announced.

A Target spokesperson told Yahoo Finance that CEO succession is led by the board. They added that Cornell doesn't have a "contract" and committed in September 2022 to lead the company for approximately three more years.

"He will retire soon," one former CEO with ties to the retailer told Yahoo Finance.

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Cornell told me in a September 2024 interview that he takes the responsibility of succession planning very seriously.

"One of the things that I spend a lot of time on and have for years is investing in talent development," Cornell said at the time. "I think as a CEO of a company like ours, it's one of my most important responsibilities is to make sure we're constantly developing talent to lead the company going forward."

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If Cornell does retire shortly, he will have left quite a mark on the discount retailer.

His first official day at Target was on Aug. 12, 2014, after he spent time leading Walmart's Sam's Club division and crafts retailer Michaels.

As the first outsider to lead Target as CEO, Cornell came into a retailer that often missed the mark. The company had been taking heat from a data breach that impacted an estimated 40 million debit and credit cards. And prior management's dreadful foray into Canada was hemorrhaging money.

It was time to act fast.

In early January 2015, Cornell announced the closure of 133 stores in Canada, less than two years after it opened its first location in the country. Target incurred a $5.4 billion quarterly loss and laid off 17,000 workers.

Cornell went on to acquire same-day delivery service Shipt, ink deals with Disney (DIS) and Ulta (ULTA) for shops inside its stores, and remodel the chain. The company expanded its private-label offerings and food assortment, and the number of items available online. It also launched a paid membership program.

But post-COVID-19, the results for Target have been more challenging as shoppers lean into everyday value at Walmart, especially in food.

The company has also dealt with considerable shopper backlash to Pride Month assortments and revisions to its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI). It has frequently been forced to adjust its guidance lower as of late amid challenging quarterly sales and profits.

The discount retailer badly missed Wall Street estimates for first quarter earnings today and slashed its full-year outlook.

"1Q results weren't great," Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe said in a note. "Store comps down mid-single digit percentage are concerning. Food and beverage momentum is important but not enough to offset broader slowdown in the business. Gross margin was down due to markdown pressures too. We think it will be more difficult for Target in this environment given tariffs and Walmart's substantial market share gains. Valuation remains cheap, but numbers continue to be pressured; and updated guide is wide-ranging, reflecting elevated uncertainty."

Sounds like a lot for the next Target CEO to work on.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram and on LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email [email protected].

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