Visit from Our New CEO

This past week marked an important event for Target--the first visit of Gregg Steinhafel as our new CEO! As usual, a team of our executives flew out to join Gregg during this exciting series of events. Throughout the visit we were able to tell Gregg more about Target India and the valuable progress that we've accomplished over these past three years.

This visit also gave us an opportunity to connect with our other senior leaders in our respective divisions. For me that is Jodee Kozlak, our EVP of HR, and Paul Dominski, our VP of Organizational Effectiveness. It's always a treat to reconnect with Jodee and Paul!

Once again, I played the role of "Peter Parker" (thanks for the new nickname, Paul) and was the "unofficial official" photographer of the week's events. I've really enjoyed my new camera this year (a Nikon D40 I purchased specially for this trip... and from Target, no less!) and my photography has really taken off. I've been putting together online photo albums and galleries, many of which have been featured on this blog, and I'm even getting offers to sell my work. It's pretty cool! It's not difficult to find things to "snap" in India--there's a photo shoot around every corner. Amazing events and people just waiting to be noticed. Be sure to stay tuned over the next week when I will feature my newest gallery, "Children of India"--a special selection of photos I've taken of children over the past six months.

Now that most of the executive team has gone, we return to business as usual--or is it? There's always something new to experience at Target, and Target India adds another colorful dimension alltogether! What an amazing opportunity to experience the world this year. I am so grateful to Target for allowing me to take advantage of this experience. When opportunity knocks, don't just open the door--invite it in, call the neighbors, and make a party of it!

Peace.

Executive Visit

Last week we had the privilege of hosting Bob Ulrich, our CEO from Target, as he made his final "official" visit to Target India now that he is retiring. Bob was accompanied by the rest of the executive team consisting of Presidents, Executive Vice Presidents, and other executive officers and leaders from the company, including our EVP of HR, Jodee Kozlak.

Over the two-day visit we were able to mingle in events both formal and casual, participate in presentations, and celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of Target India over the past couple of years. It was nice to finally have the opportunity to meet some of the other Target Corporation executives and chat with them about our experiences at Target India.

One of the highlights of the visit came when the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), or non-profits groups, presented a show as part of our Target Community Relations program. There were several groups of musicians, dancers, and speakers throughout this one-hour presentation, and the performances were wonderful. The program contained a mix of traditional and modern Indian music and dancing, and key messages from Target executives and our NGO partners. It's great to see that even though we may be thousands of miles from Target headquarters in Minneapolis, we continue to reach out and serve in the communities where our team members work and live. I feel very proud to be a part of an organization and that continues to give back, and it was nice to see the appreciation and gratitude expressed by the community.

I love Target!