The once-beloved CEO of The Walt Disney Company, now received in more complicated terms, Robert Iger, is taking charge of the company once more.
It is perhaps the biggest news for The Walt Disney Company since the passing of the founder in the 1960s. The former CEO of the company is taking the reins once again and the now ex-CEO, Bob Chapek, has been removed in a quick, dramatic fashion. Though recently approved unanimously for a contract renewal, Chapek was given short notice that he had been let go with top execs unaware of what was taking place until emails made their way to their phones at an Elton John concert. Company leadership was in shock.
For some, the return of Robert Iger is a fantastic moment eluding celebration and quasi-messianic news coverage. For others, the former CEO put the company into its current position and Bob Chapek is seen as someone who only really had eleven months of control. During those eleven months he was often targeted by pro-Iger groups and even faced down a mutiny in March and April following the Parental Rights legislation in Florida.
The Disney Company put out the following statement:
The Walt Disney Company announced today that Robert A. Iger is returning to lead Disney as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Iger, who spent more than four decades at the Company, including 15 years as its CEO, has agreed to serve as Disney’s CEO for two years, with a mandate from the Board to set the strategic direction for renewed growth and to work closely with the Board in developing a successor to lead the Company at the completion of his term. Iger succeeds Bob Chapek, who has stepped down from his position.
“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” said Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.”
“Iger has the deep respect of Disney’s senior leadership team, most of whom he worked closely with until his departure as executive chairman 11 months ago, and he is greatly admired by Disney employees worldwide—all of which will allow for a seamless transition of leadership,” Arnold said.
The position of Chairman of the Board remains unchanged, with Arnold serving in that capacity.
“I am extremely optimistic for the future of this great company and thrilled to be asked by the Board to return as its CEO,” Iger said. “Disney and its incomparable brands and franchises hold a special place in the hearts of so many people around the globe—most especially in the hearts of our employees, whose dedication to this company and its mission is an inspiration. I am deeply honored to be asked to again lead this remarkable team, with a clear mission focused on creative excellence to inspire generations through unrivaled, bold storytelling.”
During his 15 years as CEO, from 2005 to 2020, Iger helped build Disney into one of the world’s most successful and admired media and entertainment companies with a strategic vision focused on creative excellence, technological innovation, and international growth. He expanded on Disney’s legacy of unparalleled storytelling with the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox and increased the Company’s market capitalization fivefold during his time as CEO. Iger continued to direct Disney’s creative endeavors until his departure as Executive Chairman last December, and the Company’s robust pipeline of content is a testament to his leadership and vision.
Newly reminted CEO, Bob Iger, had the following to say:
— MEAD The 4K💿 Master (Tom Connors) (@ThomasConnorsJr) November 21, 2022
We will provide further analysis as more details come about. While speculation is rampant as to what led to this turn of events, especially after Chapek appeared to have full board support two weeks ago at the earnings report, we will refrain from such speculation until our writers are able to gather their thoughts on Monday morning.
For all the latest news that should be fun, keep reading That Park Place. As always, drop a comment down below and let us know your thoughts!
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But Bob Iger is the one that made Disney a woke company! It’s the end of Disney as we know it!
This smacks to me of fear and desperation on the part of the board/major shareholders given Disney’s abysmal performance. This coupled with the constant whining from the ‘creatives’ probably led to them make such a jarring change by bringing back the guy who was last in charge when the wine was flowing freely and the ‘good times’ were rolling. That’s the only reason you bring a retired CEO out of the woodwork – it’s corporate nostalgia. Unfortunately for the board a large part, if not most, of the problems were caused by Iger in the first place. Iger made his mark in Mergers and Acquisitions and had pretentions of being a ‘creative’ himself but the long term final impact of those decisions will take years to shake out. Final nail in the coffin of MCU, StarWars , Pixar and the rest as far as I’m concerned.
Oh so the creatives are the bad guys? It makes as much sense as saying Disney is dead now.
The cancer growing inside Disney was put there by Iger. The struggles the company faces today are the result of this cancer.
Chapek struggled with diagnosing the cancer and stopping the metastasis. Replacing him with Iger is like firing your oncologist the night before starting chemotherapy, and announcing you are taking up cigarettes instead.
Sadly, we could see a good time ahead as Chapek’s early changes come to fruition, but I fear this company going completely off the rails two or three years from now. Maybe that is Iger insisted his new term last only two years. He can take credit for Chapek’s actions playing out and then vanish before the second wave of failure comes crashing down.
What a mess!!!
The WSJ is reporting that Disney CFO Christine McCarthy was the one who led the insurrection against Chapek. And also that she and other managers reached-out often to former CEO Bob Iger to complain, and that it was Iger who recommended that they take their concerns to the Disney Board. The managers were saying they “lacked confidence” in Chapek.
But…we all know that can mean anything. If it were JUST Christine McCarthy, we might be thinking the issue with Chapek was a failure at/with some financial issue. But others were involved in this “lack of confidence”.
So I’m thinking that it was truly them saying they can’t work for someone who doesn’t stand for the crazy wokeness that they and their departments have. I think these managers probably said that they were having issues getting their own staff to perform to top standards because they were ‘sad’ to work under Chapek. Of course the managers agreed, and whined…instead of firing them and getting in people who wanted to work hard.
We’re in a bit of the fog of war territory right now. McCarthy may have gone after Chapek, and it fully fits her reputation, but I’m hesitant to believe anything at this point until we get leaks we can verify. I’ll have a video either tonight or tomorrow explaining why.
Pro, here’s something interesting I’ve noticed. Many of the headlines that went out yesterday and today about the Chapek (completely unprofessionally done) firing said something to the effect of “Chapek aligned with the woke”. Many used the Florida bill as an example. And in doing so, these stories imply that THIS is the reason for Chapek being replaced by Iger. And that the wokeness caused or added to Disney’s trouble.
Even if this is actually NOT the true reason why Chapek was replaced with Iger…it is now “out there” in the public that Disney was doing badly because of Chapek & Woke. And the board realized this and brought back Iger to fix the problem.
Again, even if Iger wants to continue the woke…the articles have put him and Disney in quite a box. If he doesn’t fix/correct/back-off from the woke, the public will be thinking “But wasn’t that the reason the other guy was sacked? And the reason Disney was in financial problems?” And this is the general public, not readers of ThatParkPlace, political people, etc.
It is interesting that both sides claimed they had defeated the bad guy, eh?