Target has named Chandhu Nair its first senior vice president and chief AI officer, with the appointment effective August 24, 2026, as CEO Michael Fiddelke reshapes leadership to make artificial intelligence a bigger part of merchandising, customer engagement and operations. Nair joins from Lowe's, where he was senior vice president of stores, data, AI and innovation, and will work within a technology organization led by Prat Vemana, executive vice president and chief information and product officer. Target also named Purvi Shah senior vice president of user experience. Nair brings more than 20 years of technology and AI experience, including roles at Staples and Gap, and he co-founded Cognitive Retail, a company focused on applying artificial intelligence to the retail sector. He arrives after Target rolled out tools such as Target Trend Brain and a holiday-season conversational AI program for gift shopping, underscoring a broader retail push into generative AI as Walmart, Gap and Best Buy expand AI projects across stores, supply chains and digital shopping.