Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. After finishing his tenure as CEO, Cornell will serve as executive chair of Target's board of directors. Target said it will announce its new COO — Fiddelke's successor — "at a later date.

Target, which has about 1,980 U.S. stores, has been the focus of consumer boycotts since late January, when it joined rival Walmart and a number of other prominent American brands in scaling back corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Cornell’s 11 years guiding the Minneapolis-based retailer through storied growth and recent missteps will come to an end in February.