Target CEO 2014 Pay Package Totaled $28.2 Million

Target Corp. (TGT) on Tuesday reported that Chief Executive Brian Cornell's pay package amounted to $28.2 million last year, with a make-whole package he received as an incentive to leave his former post representing the bulk of his compensation.

Mr. Cornell, who joined Target in August from PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), received make-whole compensation totaling more than $14 million, according to a regulatory filing.

When Target hired Mr. Cornell last year, the discounter estimated that he would forfeit about $19.3 million in awards from Pepsi. Mr. Cornell ultimately retained about $5.2 million in incentive awards from Pepsi, making his final make-whole long-term incentive equal to roughly $14 million.

Mr. Cornell's pro-rated compensation for the part of the year he was with Target totaled roughly $5.3 million, including salary of $595,000.

Target is trying to dig itself out of a hole left by several years of disappointing results, when the retailer failed to distinguish itself with enough hip products and found itself trying to stand out with lower prices on commodities like toilet paper and laundry detergent.

The long string of weakness--capped by a disastrous expansion into Canada and a 2013 data breach--caused executives to rethink Target's purpose and forced the removal of the company's previous CEO, Gregg Steinhafel.

In February, Target posted its best sales growth in nearly three years, a sign that shoppers are responding to changes under Mr. Cornell, such as free holiday shipping and a greater focus on apparel and home goods.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

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