MINNEAPOLIS _ Target Corp.'s top marketer, Jeff Jones, is leaving to become the new president of Uber.
Jones will be responsible for Uber's ridesharing operations, marketing and customer support, Travis Kalanick, chief executive of San Francisco-based Uber said in a statement.
Jones has been one of the most visible and best-known members of Target's leadership team since joining the firm as chief marketing officer in 2012.
In addition to leading Target's marketing strategies, Jones notably became the chief booster of company spirits after a data breach and other difficulties led to the ouster of its chief executive in May 2014. Several days after the shakeup, he candidly responded on the social media site LinkedIn to criticism of its corporate culture and executive team. "In the coming days and weeks we will embrace the critiques of Target, whether it's from outsiders or our own team, like an athletics team puts the negative press on the wall in the locker room," Jones wrote.
Jones will work at Target through next week, the Minneapolis-based retailer said.
Brian Cornell, who became chief executive of Target in October 2014, issued a statement that strongly praised Jones. He cited the live music commercials during the last two Grammy awards shows and last year's holiday campaign, which was unfolded like a serial featuring three children and Target's mascot, Bullseye the dog, in a storybook land.
"These campaigns not only drove the business, but created a deep, emotional connection with our guests," Cornell said. He added, "He's been an important partner during my time at Target, and I, along with the entire team, wish him well in his future endeavors."
Cornell said the company is already positioned with its plans for the yearend holiday season, the busiest shopping time of the year, and will look inside and outside for a new chief marketing officer.
At Uber, Jones succeeds Ryan Graves, who has been at the company since its start in 2009. Graves will remain at the firm as "resident entrepreneur." Kalanick said in his statement that he and Graves have realized in recent months that Uber's marketing needs to be more deeply integrated with operations in various cities around the country, where drivers are chiefly responsible for retaining customers.
"Ryan is the progenitor of everything Uber Operations ... but as we grow, marketing is becoming more and more of a thing, and it was clear we needed a real infusion of talent on that front," Kalanick said. "So we went big."
Before Target, Jones, who is 48, was a partner at McKinney, a North Carolina-based advertising agency, and a senior marketing executive at Gap Inc.
