#ceo-nicholas-fink

#ceo-nicholas-fink

We used to be strong and a pacesetter. We haven't been for the last few years. His assessment was clear: Target has lost its way and, to some extent, its identity. The retailer affectionately nicknamed 'Tarzhay' for its cheap-chic merchandise had earlier on Tuesday reported a fourth quarter in a row of declining comparable sales.

He goes, go get the umbrellas. Andrés stayed at the pan, cooking through the downpour while the crowd slowly circled back. Champagne came out, people laughed in the rain and a messy situation turned into a shared memory. That scene showed the group what the company does best.

People recognize polish, but they respond to purpose. What the industry is starting to learn is that value is in the principles those tools represent. Technology is initially and temporarily impressive, whereas values are unforgettable.

Many of the people most affected by what we talk about here will never come to this conference,

If your partner in Munich mishandles customer data, or your reseller in Paris uses a "black box" AI tool to generate deceptive ads, it isn't just their reputation on the line. It's yours. With the EU AI Act now in full swing and GDPR entering its "mature enforcement" era, the distance between a partner's mistake and your company's $20 million fine has never been shorter.

CEOs are struggling to find their footing these days. Their role seemed clearer during Covid, when many executives rose to the challenge of becoming inspirational figures. They led their businesses while guiding their employees through a challenging shared experience. That was the case as well for many U.S. CEOs in 2020 when George Floyd's murder shocked the nation, and employees looked to their leaders for guidance and assurance.

Fiddelke, who officially took the reins of the struggling retailer on Sunday, laid out in a note on LinkedIn and on Target's website on Monday what his priorities are as he takes over. They include restoring Target's leadership in cheap-chic merchandise, making its stores and website easier and more pleasant to use, more fully leveraging tech to improve customer experience and operations, and "strengthening" employees and "growing alongside the communities" where Target runs its stores.

The emergence of so-called "agentic AI," systems that can perform tasks independently and support decisions, plays a central role in this. Two-thirds of respondents believe that there is currently more hype surrounding agentic AI than previous technological developments. At the same time, three-quarters are still discovering how this technology can be used effectively. According to Basware CEO Jason Kurtz, the time for experimentation is over; executives expect concrete results.

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jamie Dimon explained why JPMorgan Chase is spending billions more on AI. He was making a long-term bet. The same kind of leaders make when they build headquarters, factories or infrastructure that won't "pay off" this quarter but will define competitiveness for decades. It's exactly how marketers should think about and position differentiation in the eyes of the C-Suite.

I'm not a runner, but I love to watch the relay.