AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Target’s inner circle - Fortune Magazine

They’re brilliantly creative. They’re enviably down-to-earth. They’re universally imitated. And they’re entering one of the most challenging periods the company has faced in 46 years.

You’d think Robert Ulrich would be warming up for his victory lap right about now. The soon-to-retire CEO of Target Corp. should be easing into a lavish farewell tour filled with teary thank-yous, champagne-soaked sendoffs, and a book of leadership secrets. After all, in his 23 years at Target (almost 14 of them as CEO), Ulrich has transformed a Midwestern discounter into one of the most admired and imitated companies in the world. Target now ranks 33rd on the Fortune 500 - making it bigger than Microsoft, Pfizer, and PepsiCo, and more than double the size of Cisco Systems.

There’s just one thing: Though everyone knows Target (TGT, Fortune 500), hardly anyone’s even heard of Ulrich. In fact, those who think his name rings a bell are most likely picturing Robert Urich, the deceased actor from television’s Vega$ and Spencer for Hire. Even Ulrich’s own employees often don’t recognize him during his twice-monthly store walks, when he strolls the aisles dressed in Target’s standard red shirt and khakis. Neither he nor his company has ever before graced the cover of a major magazine - highly unusual for a corporation its size. In fact, Ulrich has deliberately stayed so far under the radar that Bob Thacker, a former Target marketing executive now at OfficeMax, dubbed him the “silent Sam Walton.” Says Thacker: “He has no public persona.”

Ulrich’s longtime No. 2, Gregg Steinhafel, is equally reticent.

During a recent interview in his tidy, light-filled office at Target’s Minneapolis headquarters, Steinhafel’s Midwestern reserve fluctuates between polite and downright uncomfortable. But then I cross the line. The offense: asking how Steinhafel, 53, who will take over as CEO from Ulrich on May 1, differs from his longtime mentor. The room grows silent. His mouth gets thin. Arms cross. “This isn’t about me,” he says. Long, awkward pause. “We’re all a little bit nervous when we are talking too much about [ourselves],” he allows, finally. “It should all be about the brand.”

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