Robert J. Ulrich (born 1944) is an American retired businessman who was the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and chairman of the

Target Corporation Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...

, the second-largest mass merchandise retailer in the United States. Ulrich is credited with crafting Target's unique brand and marketing image and focus, which is widely considered to be a key contributor to the company's growth and success in the challenging retailing industry.

Biography

Ulrich was born in 1944, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, the son of a 3M executive. He graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in 1967, and moved quickly into the retailing business. He began his career with Dayton Hudson Corporation (which would become Target Corporation in 2000). Until 1981, Ulrich held a series of positions overseeing merchandising for Dayton Hudson, including overseeing merchandising for Dayton's Department Stores. In 1981, he moved to overseeing the operations of Dayton's subsidiary,

Diamond's Diamond's was a department store chain headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Originally named The Boston Store, it was founded in 1897 by Nathan and Issac Diamond, Jewish immigrants who had earlier begun a dry-goods mercantile in El Paso, it was rena ...

. He currently resides in the Twin Cities Metro Area.

Building Target

In 1984, Ulrich became president of the Target Stores group within Dayton Hudson, and he began leading significant growth for the division. In 1987, he was promoted to chairman and chief executive officer of the Target stores group. By 1992, the number of Target stores had doubled during Ulrich's tenure, to just over 500, with just shy of fifty more opening each year. In 1994, Kenneth Macke retired as chairman and chief executive of Target's parent company, Dayton Hudson Corporation, and Ulrich succeeded him in the position. Dayton Hudson had grown to encompass several store chains, including

Dayton's Dayton's was an American department store chain founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. It operated several local high end department stores throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for almost 100 years. Although it ...

Hudson's The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the tallest d ...

Mervyn's Mervyn's was an American middle-scale department store chain based in Hayward, California, and founded by Mervin G. Morris (1920–2021). It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, ...

, and

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

, in addition to Target. Over time, Target began to far eclipse the success of the other Dayton Hudson stores, and on January 13, 2000, Dayton Hudson took the name Target Corporation. Ulrich sold the other store groups, including

and

, and focused on promoting the Target brand.

Today

Ulrich retired from Target May 1, 2008. In April 2010 Ulrich founded the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix where he continues to serve as Board Chairman. In addition to that role, Ulrich serves on the boards of 3M, the University of St. Thomas, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Achievements

Bob Ulrich was awarded
CEO of the Year 2007
by Chief Executive Magazine

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulrich, Bob 1944 births American retail chief executives Businesspeople from Minneapolis American businesspeople in retailing Living people University of Minnesota alumni Target Corporation people

Biography

Building Target

Today

Achievements

See also

References