Matthew A. Liegel
TARGETAbout Matthew A. Liegel
Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer & Controller at Target Corporation; serves as Principal Accounting Officer signing Target’s 10‑K/10‑Q filings . Background includes nearly 20 years at PwC auditing large global public companies; Accounting degree from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota; continued executive education at INSEAD . Year of birth listed as 1977 (Yahoo profile), implying age ~48 in 2025 . Target’s investor compensation framework ties leadership incentives to Sales, Incentive Operating Income, ROIC, EPS growth, and relative TSR; FY2023 STIP paid 93.4% of goal amid Sales down 1.7% and Incentive Operating Income up 51.6% versus prior year . FY2024 merchandise sales totaled $104,820 million (company annual report) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| PwC | Partner | 1998–2018 | Led audits of large global public companies; deep US GAAP/SEC reporting expertise supporting robust internal controls . |
| Target Corporation | VP, Financial Accounting & Reporting | 2018–2022 | Oversaw financial reporting and accounting operations ahead of promotion to Chief Accounting Officer . |
| Target Corporation | SVP, Chief Accounting Officer & Controller | 2022–present | Principal Accounting Officer; signs 10‑K/10‑Q; leads ~200‑member accounting team . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | No public company directorships or external board roles identified in available filings/profiles . |
Fixed Compensation
Target’s leadership pay design emphasizes at‑risk compensation. STIP is anchored to absolute financial goals and a team scorecard; for FY2023 the weighting was 67% Financial (Sales 50%, Incentive Operating Income 50%) and 33% Team Scorecard, yielding 93.4% of goal payout overall (Non‑CEO leadership targets are typically 100% of base; CEO 200%) .
| Component | FY2023 Weight | Metric | Goal (USD mm) | Actual (USD mm) | Actual vs Goal | Payout as % of Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial | 67% | Sales | $109,527 | $105,803 | 96.6% | 95% |
| Financial | 67% | Incentive Operating Income | $5,778 | $6,167 | 106.7% | 144% (metric‑level) |
| Team Scorecard | 33% | Multi‑indicator assessment | N/A | N/A | N/A | 90% |
| Total STIP | — | Weighted payout | — | — | — | 93.4% |
Notes:
- Target reports Sales and Incentive Operating Income (IOI) with defined adjustments; IOI goals in FY2023 targeted +42.1% YoY; actual IOI rose 51.6% YoY, while Sales declined 1.7% .
- CAO‑specific base salary and bonus amounts are not disclosed publicly; STIP design above applies to leadership team plans broadly .
Performance Compensation
Target’s annual LTI for leadership consists entirely of performance‑based equity: PSUs (60%) and PBRSUs (40%), each on relative metrics versus a retail peer set; cliff vests after performance period .
| Award Type | Metric | Weighting | Target Definition | Actual/Payout Example | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSUs | Adjusted Sales CAGR (relative to peers) | 1/3 | 3‑year relative growth vs peer set | 2020–2023 PSU payout 117.7% overall; Sales metric payout 129% (rank 6/21) | Cliff vest post 3‑year period . |
| PSUs | EPS CAGR (relative to peers) | 1/3 | 3‑year relative EPS growth | EPS metric payout 99% (rank 10/21) | Cliff vest post 3‑year period . |
| PSUs | ROIC (relative to peers) | 1/3 | 3‑year average ROIC vs peers | ROIC metric payout 126% (rank 7/21) | Cliff vest post 3‑year period . |
| PBRSUs | Relative TSR | 100% | 3‑year TSR vs peers; +/-25 pts adjustment for top/bottom third | 2021–2023 PBRSU payout 75% (TSR rank 15/20) | Cliff vest post 3‑year period . |
Vesting and protections:
- PBRSUs: 50% vest if involuntarily terminated without cause prior to scheduled vest date; PSUs/PBRSUs include vesting‑extension provisions for retirement eligibility, death, disability; dividend equivalents accrue subject to performance .
- PSU adjustments exclude non‑operational items (e.g., 53rd week; Dermstore sale impacts) to ensure objective relative measurement .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Role‑based equity alignment: Target maintains stock ownership guidelines for directors/NEOs; the proxy shows guidelines and calculations (multiples of retainer/salary), though CAO status is not tabulated among NEOs in 2025 .
- Beneficial ownership and insider transactions (Form 4s):
| Trade Date | Filing Date | Type | Shares (+/–) | Price | Post‑Trade Direct Holdings | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024‑08‑30 | 2024‑09‑03 | Sale | −1,000 | $153.13 | 7,276 | |
| 2025‑03‑07 | 2025‑03‑10 | Sale | −287 | $113.52 | 7,173 | |
| 2025‑03‑10–03‑14 | 2025‑03‑14 | Grants/Tax (multiple) | +5,680 grant; −359 tax | $106.02; $113.74 | 12,490 (grant reflected) | |
| 2025‑04‑08 | 2025‑04‑10 | Grant | +480 | $92.43 | 12,970 (grant reflected) | |
| 2025‑06‑10 | 2025‑06‑12 | Sale | −2,044 | $100.90 | 11,064 |
- Net ownership: GuruFocus estimates 11,064 direct shares as of June 10, 2025 (caution: third‑party estimate derived from SEC filings) .
- Pledging/hedging: No pledging of company stock is disclosed for Liegel; Target maintains a Securities Trading Policy and codes of ethics, with related disclosures and amendments posted online .
Employment Terms
- Position: Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer & Controller; Principal Accounting Officer signature on 10‑K (Mar 12, 2025) and 10‑Qs (May 30, 2025; Aug 29, 2025) .
- Deferred compensation: Target registered additional deferred compensation obligations across director/executive plans on Aug 25, 2023 (Form S‑8), evidencing broader leadership participation in nonqualified deferred comp programs .
- Severance/change‑of‑control: While CAO‑specific severance details are not disclosed, Target’s Income Continuation Plan provides severance for involuntary termination without cause (e.g., Hennington/Tu transition 8‑K, May 2025); equity awards provide accelerated/partial vesting in specified separation circumstances per plan terms .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: The CAO’s equity grants and ongoing holdings, paired with Target’s 100% performance‑based LTI design (relative Sales/EPS/ROIC and TSR), support strong pay‑for‑performance alignment at the accounting leadership level .
- Selling pressure: Recent insider sales by Liegel are modest in size and appear alongside routine grants and tax withholdings; net holdings increased ahead of the June sale, reducing to 11,064 shares post‑trade—limited indication of systemic selling pressure .
- Governance quality: Target’s compensation framework (STIP outcomes, LTI metrics, vesting‑extension provisions) and strong say‑on‑pay support (94.1% approval in 2023) lower governance‑related risk; CAO compensation specifics are not publicly itemized, which modestly limits granularity for pay benchmarking .
- Execution risk: As Principal Accounting Officer, Liegel’s oversight of reporting controls is critical; continued signatory status and absence of adverse disclosures underpin continuity in financial stewardship .