2 months ago
What did Target, Starbucks, and Nike have in common barely a year ago? All three consumer icons had freshly announced new CEOs, which were wrongly greeted with hasty skepticism from ***** ysts. Target's Michael Fiddelke was scoffed at as an uninspired insider; Nike's Elliott Hill was underestimated as a nostalgia hire, unable to stem Nike's loss of market share, while questions abounded over whether Brian Niccol could actually turn around Starbucks amidst pervasive in-store service struggles, despite his sterling record at Chipotle.
We saw it differently. At the time of their appointments, we vocally and presciently touted all three new CEOs as the right person for the job at the right time, while other ***** ysts rolled their eyes. Unlike the frequent, sometime successful model of the messianic hiring of industry outsiders as turnaround tians, these new CEOs hit the ground running as each had decades of experience in their sectors with glowing track records, priceless relationships, and balanced expertise across marketing, finance, strategy, and operations,.
Furthermore, we were the first to confidently predict the certainty of their success, even knowing that it would take some time to reposition their enterprises and for their new leadership to gain traction. Now the receipts are in, showing striking progress in all three cases, with each already well on their way to cementing their reputations as the architects of some of the most remarkable corporate turnarounds of our era.
When Michael Fiddelke, a Target lifer who had risen up the ranks from a lowly intern over two decades ago, was named CEO, cynics sneered that the board had chosen entrenched groupthink over fresh blood. We argued precisely the opposite—that the data overwhelmingly shows internal candidates outperform splashy external saviors, with insider CEOs appointed over the prior year delivering roughly 15% annualized shareholder returns while external hires averaged negative 9%. New brooms sweep clean, but the old broom knows the corners. Furthermore, we argued that Fiddelke was uniquely positioned to build on the many successes of his widely admired predecessor, Brian Cornell, despite simultaneous urgent challenges.
This week brought resounding vindication. Target's second-quarter sales jumped 5.3%, digital sales grew nearly 9%, Target raised its full-year outlook for the second consecutive quarter, and the stock soared nearly 5%. Indeed, on a year to date basis, Target stock has soared nearly 60%.
#year #time
We saw it differently. At the time of their appointments, we vocally and presciently touted all three new CEOs as the right person for the job at the right time, while other ***** ysts rolled their eyes. Unlike the frequent, sometime successful model of the messianic hiring of industry outsiders as turnaround tians, these new CEOs hit the ground running as each had decades of experience in their sectors with glowing track records, priceless relationships, and balanced expertise across marketing, finance, strategy, and operations,.
Furthermore, we were the first to confidently predict the certainty of their success, even knowing that it would take some time to reposition their enterprises and for their new leadership to gain traction. Now the receipts are in, showing striking progress in all three cases, with each already well on their way to cementing their reputations as the architects of some of the most remarkable corporate turnarounds of our era.
When Michael Fiddelke, a Target lifer who had risen up the ranks from a lowly intern over two decades ago, was named CEO, cynics sneered that the board had chosen entrenched groupthink over fresh blood. We argued precisely the opposite—that the data overwhelmingly shows internal candidates outperform splashy external saviors, with insider CEOs appointed over the prior year delivering roughly 15% annualized shareholder returns while external hires averaged negative 9%. New brooms sweep clean, but the old broom knows the corners. Furthermore, we argued that Fiddelke was uniquely positioned to build on the many successes of his widely admired predecessor, Brian Cornell, despite simultaneous urgent challenges.
This week brought resounding vindication. Target's second-quarter sales jumped 5.3%, digital sales grew nearly 9%, Target raised its full-year outlook for the second consecutive quarter, and the stock soared nearly 5%. Indeed, on a year to date basis, Target stock has soared nearly 60%.
#year #time
2 months ago
Detroit – The Tigers have added some veteran outfield depth to their system, signing 27-year-old Michael Siani to a minor league deal and ******* igning him to Triple-A Toledo.
Siani, a plus-defender, has played parts of five seasons in the big leagues, including one game for the Orioles this season.
In one full season, with the Cardinals in 2024, he posted a .570 OPS in 124 games.
He's struggled offensively in Triple-A this season, .167/.281/.242 with both the Dodgers and Orioles.
The Tigers were left short on outfielders because of injuries to James Outman, Kerry Carpenter and Wenceel Perez. They've already called up Ben Malgeri, Trei Cruz and Corey Julks from Triple-A Toledo.
#siani #orioles #michael
Siani, a plus-defender, has played parts of five seasons in the big leagues, including one game for the Orioles this season.
In one full season, with the Cardinals in 2024, he posted a .570 OPS in 124 games.
He's struggled offensively in Triple-A this season, .167/.281/.242 with both the Dodgers and Orioles.
The Tigers were left short on outfielders because of injuries to James Outman, Kerry Carpenter and Wenceel Perez. They've already called up Ben Malgeri, Trei Cruz and Corey Julks from Triple-A Toledo.
#siani #orioles #michael
3 months ago
Transfer portal linebacker signee Rasheem Biles reminds Texas coach Steve Sarkisian of another star on the Longhorns defense. Sark says the Pitt transfer reminds him of Colin Simmons in that he's a "problem."
Back in spring practice, Sarkisian said Simmons used to "ruin practice." He'd sack the quarterback and the play would have to be re-run so others could learn their jobs. Sark says Simmons doesn't do that anymore, even though he could.
"I showed it in a team meeting the other day," Sark said in April. "He came free on a rush. I don't know if he came within four yards of the quarterback. He just kept rushing by, so that the other 21 guys that were out there ... the quarterback can still throw it, the DBs can still cover. He didn't feel like he had to go get near the quarterback. He's really practicing like a pro right now."
The UT coach says his new linebacker is the same way.
"I'm seeing that with Rasheem Biles," Sark said Monday. "I mean, he's a problem. Guy's a problem when he rushes. He can do it on special teams. I mean, he does it a lot of different ways. But, again, I want them to keep going. I want Colin [Simmons] to make it hard on [left tackle] Trevor [Goosby] and [right tackle] Melvin [Siani] every day. I want Rasheem [Biles] to make it hard on our guards and to make it hard on our backs every day, because iron sharpens iron, and that's how we're going to get better offensively. ... Biles brings it every day."
#sark
Back in spring practice, Sarkisian said Simmons used to "ruin practice." He'd sack the quarterback and the play would have to be re-run so others could learn their jobs. Sark says Simmons doesn't do that anymore, even though he could.
"I showed it in a team meeting the other day," Sark said in April. "He came free on a rush. I don't know if he came within four yards of the quarterback. He just kept rushing by, so that the other 21 guys that were out there ... the quarterback can still throw it, the DBs can still cover. He didn't feel like he had to go get near the quarterback. He's really practicing like a pro right now."
The UT coach says his new linebacker is the same way.
"I'm seeing that with Rasheem Biles," Sark said Monday. "I mean, he's a problem. Guy's a problem when he rushes. He can do it on special teams. I mean, he does it a lot of different ways. But, again, I want them to keep going. I want Colin [Simmons] to make it hard on [left tackle] Trevor [Goosby] and [right tackle] Melvin [Siani] every day. I want Rasheem [Biles] to make it hard on our guards and to make it hard on our backs every day, because iron sharpens iron, and that's how we're going to get better offensively. ... Biles brings it every day."
#sark
