Put this one in the “solidly unlikely” hamper. Even though it is appearing on CNBC, I don’t know how Bob Chapek would be taken out quickly enough for the 2022 prediction to happen. But, according to CNBC’s anonymous executives around Wall Street and major corporations, they expect that Bob Iger will return to replace Bob Chapek as The Walt Disney Company CEO.
From the article:
Iger, 70, repeatedly extended his contract after planning to retire in 2015, 2016 and 2018 before abruptly stepping down in 2020. He’s still Disney’s executive chairman until the end of the year.
It’s unclear if Iger wants to return. He’s already working on a second book, according to The Hollywood Reporter, after publishing one in 2019.
But Disney shares have stumbled this year, down nearly 20% year to date. Iger owns a lot of those shares. The board and Iger may get restless if Disney+ growth stagnates and the company continues to have turf tensions between executives.
One of the interesting things from the article is that it is claimed executives within Disney are wagering bets about if Iger will come back. Our reporting at That Park Place, often through WDW Pro, has been that Chapek has consolidated power at the company. It will be interesting to see what Pro has to say about this in the next few days if she’s heard anything. Is the CNBC report legitimate or click-bait?
In my view, this all seems very unlikely. Wasn’t the new board director, Susan Arnold, selected as a counter to Iger’s later years when things seemed to be more about politics than money? It’s all very complicated but even just looking at Iger’s age, why would he come back? He’s tried to step down many times before now.
I guess we’ll find out in the next year what is going to happen. But until then, what do you think? Would you like Chapek to step down and Iger to come back into power already? Let us know in the comments below!