Target Corp. has promoted Anu Gupta to the role of senior vice-president, operational excellence.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. has promoted Anu Gupta to the role of senior vice-president, operational excellence, effective Oct. 12. This position is new to Target, and will entail Ms. Gupta leading a team in simplifying and optimizing business processes to help the retailer anticipate and meet guest needs.

Ms. Gupta previously was senior operating executive for private equity investment firm Hellman & Friedman. Before that, she was vice-president for process and profit improvement at Michael’s Stores, Inc. and held an operational leadership role at Safeway, Inc.

“Anu has a proven track record of increasing effectiveness across every aspect of organizations in a variety of complex businesses, including retail,” said John Mulligan, chief operating officer at Target. “She brings the right expertise to help simplify our operating processes to be more nimble and sustainable, an important early step as we focus on shoring up our core operations and giving guests an on-demand experience.”