Target names new chief marketing officer

Target has made a key addition to its executive team.



The discounter has promoted Rick Gomez to the position of executive VP and chief marketing officer, effective Jan. 29. Gomez, currently senior VP of brand and category marketing, has been with Target since 2013. He replaces Jeff Jones, who left Target last summer to become president of Uber.



Gomez is a marketing veteran who has been behind some of Target’s more high-profile initiatives, including its award-winning commercials featuring live performances during the 2015 and 2016 Grammy’s telecasts.



He has also been a big advocate of the retailer’s renewed efforts to conduct deeper customer research to help inform its strategies to drive growth in key categories, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.



In his new role, Gomez will oversee marketing and media strategy, creative, marketing communications, guest research, loyalty, corporate communications and corporate social responsibility efforts. He will report to Target chairman and CEO Brian Cornell, and serve as a member of Target’s Leadership Team.



“Rick has a deep understanding of the retail marketplace and brings an analytical, strategic and collaborative approach to the work he leads to reach our guests and drive the business,” stated Cornell. “As our new chief marketing officer, Rick will build on Target’s history of world-class marketing to drive traffic, sales, guest loyalty and brand equity during a time of rapid retail change.”



On Thursday, Gomez announced Target’s new marketing push into soccer, signing on to become an official sponsor of Major League Soccer and the fast-growing league's new Twin Cities franchise, Minnesota United FC. The sponsorship marked a major change for Target, which has never sponsored a professional sports league or team before. Previously, its sports-related partnerships were limited to sponsoring NASCAR and Indy racing. Target ended its 27-year sponsorship of IndyCar racing last year.



Prior to joining Target, Gomez held several roles at PepsiCo, Quaker Oats and MillerCoors.