Catching Up with an MHEFI Scholarship Recipient
James Anunciacion, University Of Minnesota
James Anunciacion is a lifelong resident of the Twin Cities area, but from a professional standpoint, he rarely stays in the same spot for long. Anunciacion, 35, has worn many hats during his 16 years of combined experience at General Mills and Target, and in November, he had just taken another step up the corporate ladder, having become a manager in global business solutions at General Mills.
The new gig requires an understanding of virtually every link in the supply chain and the ability to plan go-to-market strategy with sales and marketing professionals, product developers, packaging developers and supply chain teams. Given his varied job titles and his academic accomplishments, Anunciacion feels well prepared.
“There’s not a part of the supply chain I haven’t worked in, but there’s definitely places I could go deeper,” he said. “When I look at my career, it’s truly been end-toend in nature. I am blessed to have had all these opportunities and experiences right here in the Twin Cities.”
Anunciacion started out as a sales associate at a Marshall Field’s department store when the chain was owned by Target. He then interned in store operations at Target’s headquarters before graduating from the University of Minnesota with bachelor’s degrees in marketing and supply chain management in 2006.
In 2007, Anunciacion became a customs entry specialist in Target’s global trade services division, helping to get goods from overseas suppliers through U.S. Customs and eventually into the bigbox retailer’s distribution network. Three years later, he became a logistics analyst in Target’s transportation division, where he ensured supply chain speed by managing third-party logistics providers, carrier and vendor performance metrics and overall service in inbound operations, primarily in Target’s dry network, before eventually moving into strategic channels of grocery and Target.com businesses.