Target Hires Tyson Foods Leader to Replace Retiring Law Head (1)

Target Corp. hired Amy Tu to be its new chief legal and compliance officer and corporate secretary starting Aug. 25.

Tu has spent the past nearly seven years at Tyson Foods Inc., most recently as group president for international markets and chief administrative officer, the latter role one that saw her oversee legal, governance, and corporate affairs. She succeeds Target’s current legal chief Don Liu.

“Amy’s experience, both in legal and business leadership, offers strong continuity at the top of our legal affairs and compliance teams,” Target chief executive Brian Cornell said in a statement Monday.

Tu, a former in-house lawyer at the Boeing Co. and Walmart Inc., initially was hired as general counsel for Tyson in 2017. She guided the Springdale, Arkansas-based company through pandemic-related challenges before turning over that job almost two years ago. Tu wasn’t one of the five highest-paid executives at Tyson last year, according to the company’s most recent proxy filing. Bloomberg data shows she owns about $5.4 million in Tyson stock.

Liu, who joined Target in 2016 after serving as the top lawyer at Xerox Corp., had previously announced his plans to retire sometime this year. Target said in a statement that Liu will transition to a strategy advisory role that will keep him at the Minneapolis-based retailer through May 2025.

Liu received nearly $4.2 million in total compensation during fiscal 2023, Target disclosed in its most recent proxy statement. He owns more than $5 million in Target stock, according to Bloomberg data.

In a Tuesday post to LinkedIn, Liu praised Tu as a worthy addition to lead Target’s more than 500-employee legal affairs team and touted an introduction of her on the company’s website. Liu and Tu are both involved with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and been supportive of diversity programs.

Liu, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, said in a 2021 interview that diversity—along with efficiency and risk tolerance—would be a point that Target would use to evaluate and trim its outside counsel roster. That move came after Target’s own diversity efforts and other corporate actions drew scrutiny in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder in the company’s hometown.

Target and other companies have now been hit by some conservative activists over affinity-focused endeavors. Kirkland & Ellis and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath are representing Target in a lawsuit filed against the company last year by a group led by former Trump administration official Stephen Miller over LGBTQ-themed merchandise that was sold in Target stories.

During the pandemic, Tu and Liu were among several prominent Asian American lawyers to talk about racism they experienced during their careers. Both lawyers signed on to a pro bono initiative designed to provide legal support to Asian American communities. Tu herself has also spoken about discrimination that her family experienced as Chinese immigrants in the US.

Tyson didn’t respond to a request for comment about Tu’s departure but earlier this month said that Devin Cole would replace her as head of its international business. The company already named Adam Deckinger, who like Tu previously worked at Boeing, to succeed her last year as its general counsel.

In October, Target tapped its former general counsel Matthew Zabel—who reported to Liu—to be its new chief corporate affairs officer. Zabel’s promotion came as Target said it would eliminate its general counsel position and fold those duties into Liu’s portfolio at the company.