MINNEAPOLIS — Kiera Fernandez was promoted to executive vice president and chief community impact and equity officer of Target last October. Her new role gives her oversight of external stakeholder engagement as well as the retailer’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and corporate philanthropy efforts, including the Target Foundation.

Fernandez, who reports to Matt Zabel, chief corporate affairs officer, is a founding member of Target’s Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) committee, and has extensive leadership experience across human resources, retail operations, process and project management, and large-scale frontline leader and team development.

Throughout her more than two decades with Target, Fernandez has held a variety of human resources leadership roles in support of business areas from finance to operations, to global supply chain and logistics. She began her Target career in 2001 as an executive team leader at a Target store in Arizona and subsequently served as a store team leader and then regional sales manager.

In 2009 Fernandez was named group human resources manager, and in 2016 she was promoted to the position of director of human resources. Less than a year later she was elevated to senior director of human resources.

Kiera Fernandez

In 2019 Fernandez was promoted to vice president of human resources, with responsibility for the program management office that supports all operations, asset protection, property management and human resources for Target’s entire stores and global supply chain and logistics organization. In that position, she played a critical part in the transformation of the store experience and Target’s operating model.

When Target was once again named one of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For last year, Fernandez shared her personal reaction to the honor on Linkedn.

“I’m thrilled to share this recognition, because it reflects what’s so special about the Bullseye: the team’s commitment to our culture, guests and communities, and Target’s commitment to the best team in retail,” she wrote. “Really proud to be part of a team that is investing in opportunities for all team members as they pursue their career journeys and dreams. In my 20-plus years at Target, I’ve seen up close, and experienced myself, how life-changing this commitment to team can be.”

In turn, Target team members have a strong tradition of voluteering their time and talents. Last year, team members donated over 1 million hours — the fourth time that milestone has been reached. Among the top causes that benefited from this volunteerism were community development, wealth-building economic opportunity and hunger relief, which included in-kind donations.