Executive promotions increasingly combine multiple corporate roles
Companies are giving senior leaders wider mandates that combine sales, marketing, operations and growth responsibilities, Fortune reported.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
Large companies are increasingly handing top executives wider jobs that combine responsibilities once split across several C-suite posts, Fortune reported. The shift matters for succession planning because boards are using these broader assignments to test whether leaders can make decisions across the whole business.
Target’s leadership changes under Michael Fiddelke offer one example, according to Fortune. After Target named Fiddelke chief executive in February 2026, the company removed the chief commercial officer position and put merchandising authority into one job.
Cara Sylvester, who had been Target’s chief guest experience officer, became the company’s only chief merchandising officer, Fortune reported. Her remit includes developing products, shaping assortments and working with partners.
Target also promoted Lisa Roath, previously chief merchandising officer for food, essentials and beauty, to chief operating officer. Fortune reported that Roath took charge of supply chain, stores and merchandising execution from end to end.
Fortune described the Target moves as part of a wider pattern in corporate America. Companies are placing sales, marketing, growth and operations under fewer senior leaders, with jobs increasingly built around business results rather than single functions.
Microsoft made a similar move in October 2025, Fortune reported. The company promoted Judson Althoff from chief commercial officer to chief executive of its commercial business, putting sales, marketing and commercial operations under one leader.
Althoff had helped build Microsoft’s customer and partner solutions organization into a major growth driver, according to Fortune. In the new role, he was given responsibility for speeding enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence.
Consumer-products companies are also broadening senior posts. Fortune reported that Kimberly-Clark expanded its chief growth officer role to cover marketing, innovation and revenue growth management, giving one executive a larger share of commercial strategy.
The change does not mean companies are moving away from specialist knowledge, according to Fortune. Spencer Stuart research from December 2025 found that S&P 500 companies still fill most of these leadership jobs through internal promotions, which Fortune said shows boards continue to value experience inside a function.
That experience is increasingly treated as a starting point for bigger assignments, Fortune reported. Executives who perform well in one area are being given mandates that cross commercial strategy, technology, operations, finance or customer work.
Those jobs can become important tests for executives who hope to become chief executive, according to Fortune. By putting leaders in charge of multiple connected functions, boards can see how they set priorities and make decisions beyond their original area of expertise.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.