Katie Boylan

EVP, Chief Communications Officer
Target
US

Katie Boylan took over the senior communications role at Target—one of America’s largest and most respected retail companies—in 2017 with the departure of Dustee Jenkins (a fixture on this list in her role with Spotify—and has presided over a revamping of the firm’s agency relationships and a renewed emphasis on purpose and responsibility.

Having joined Target's communications team in 2011, after a five-year stint at Edelman and earlier positions at Weber Shandwick and Burson Marsteller, she was named to lead the communications function in 2017 and was officially named chief communications officer in 2020. In 2021 she was named an executive vice president and added sustainability responsibilities to her role.

She now oversees the retail giant’s internal and external communications, as well as its extensive corporate responsibility, sustainability initiatives and philanthropic efforts, including the Target Foundation.

What are the communications industry's biggest challenges and opportunities in the year ahead?

There’s no question we are navigating an increasingly complex and dynamic environment. As communicators—now more than ever—we must lean in to curiosity, flexibility and learning as we offer counsel to our business partners and connect with audiences in new and resonant ways. 

How have you switched off from work and maintained wellness over the past year?

As a team, we’ve committed to a set of norms—no after-hours emails, no Friday afternoon meetings, fully unplugging during time off—that help set the tone for how we care for each other at work and enable us to realize the benefits of remote work and operating in a hybrid model. I love these practices because they serve as useful reminders to step away from day-to-day routines so I can get outside, stay active and come back to the work with more energy, focus and a fresh perspective.