Gregg Steinhafel (born in 1954) is an American business executive, who was the president,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and chairman of

Target Corporation Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of th ...

until 2014.

Early life

Gregg Steinhafel was born in 1954 in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. His grandfather founded Steinhafels Furniture in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1934. He began working in the store when he was in grade school, performing odd jobs. He graduated from

Carroll University Carroll University is a private university in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States. It was established in 1846 as Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. The university is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History ...

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 71,158 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River adjacent to th ...

and the

Kellogg School of Management The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (branded as Northwestern Kellogg) is the graduate business school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois. History Early ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

Career

In 1979, he was recruited as a merchandising trainee by Target, where he steadily advanced through the ranks of the organization. He achieved the position of the Executive Vice President of Merchandising in July 1994 and became Chief Executive Officer in May 2008. In May 2014, Target executives issued a "him or us" ultimatum that forced Steinhafel to resign from his position as CEO on May 5, 2014 as a result of the data breach that affected 70 million to 110 million consumers. His tenure as CEO of Target also included a disastrous expansion of Target into Canada in which the company lost $2 billion in two years. On top of the cost burden from buying out 220 leases of discount retailer chain

Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce ...

, the expansion was plagued by flawed execution, including inventory and restocking problems, poor locations and higher prices than Canadian shoppers expected. Steinhafel received a severance package of $61 million and agreed to "remain employed by Target in an advisory capacity to assist with the transition through no later than August 23, 2014." Steinhafel is a Director, Member of Nominating and Governance Committee and Member of Compensation & Human Resources Committee for

The Toro Company The Toro Company is an American company based in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota that designs, manufactures, and markets lawn mowers, snow blowers, and irrigation system supplies for commercial and residential, agricultural, ...

. He is the vice chairman of the

Retail Industry Leaders Association Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinhafel, Gregg 1954 births Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Kellogg School of Management alumni American retail chief executives Target Corporation people Businesspeople from Milwaukee Carroll University alumni American people of German descent American chairpersons of corporations