In a surprising flip of occasions, The Walt Disney Co. says that Bob Chapek will step down as CEO, with Bob Iger returning to steer the corporate.
Disney’s board of administrators introduced the choice Sunday evening.
“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his lengthy profession, together with navigating the corporate by means of the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” stated Susan Arnold, chairman of the board, in an announcement. “The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an more and more complicated interval of trade transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely located to steer the Firm by means of this pivotal interval.”
Chapek had simply signed a new multi-year contract in June, after hypothesis following the ouster of TV chief Peter Rice earlier that month prompted the board to situation a notable public assertion backing the CEO after the transfer.
Iger even acknowledged in an e mail to Disney staff Sunday that he’s returning “with an unbelievable sense of gratitude and humility — and, I need to admit, a little bit of amazement.”
Whereas Iger will probably be returning to his previous function, the board additionally made it clear that his new time period will probably be a short lived one.
Iger “has agreed to function Disney’s CEO for 2 years, with a mandate from the Board to set the strategic path for renewed progress and to work intently with the Board in growing a successor to steer the Firm on the completion of his time period,” the board stated.
Iger stepped apart as CEO in February 2020, handing the reins to Chapek, who beforehand led the corporate’s theme parks and shopper merchandise division. He continued to function government chairman of the corporate, stepping down from that place simply 11 months in the past.
In fact, as Arnold famous in her assertion, the novel coronavirus pandemic took its toll on the corporate, shutting its theme parks and cruise ships, and stopping virtually all movie and TV productions. It additionally, nevertheless, turbocharged streaming progress, with Chapek leaning into streaming by reorganizing the corporate to deal with digital.
However his tenure has additionally been rocky, marked with controversies and distractions. From the aggressive marketing campaign in opposition to Marvel star Scarlett Johansson that resulted in a settlement over pay for Black Widow, to Disney’s response (or lack thereof) to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Homosexual” invoice, Chapek has needed to take care of a wide selection of public misfires throughout his comparatively transient tenure atop the corporate.
However along with the general public controversies, Disney’s enterprise has additionally begun to falter in latest quarters.
Chapek introduced on Nov. 11 that the corporate would freeze hiring and cease all non-essential journey, with layoffs prone to comply with as his government group sought to trim prices.
And whereas Disney+ continues to realize subscriptions at a speedy clip — some 235 million throughout Disney+, ESPN and Hulu — the corporate’s streaming losses have continued to develop, making it that rather more difficult to hit their profitability goal.
Iger, an organization man at ABC since becoming a member of ABC in 1974, led the community after Disney acquired it in 1995 was elevated to CEO of Disney in 2005, succeeding Michael Eisner.
Whereas his elevation throughout the firm was as a result of his enterprise acumen, he developed a fame for having an elevated sense of style and inventive imaginative and prescient, abilities he continued to place to make use of after stepping apart as CEO in 2020.
Iger grew Disney to new heights by buying Pixar (2006), Marvel (2009) and Lucasfilm (2012), making a powerhouse that in 2019 noticed the corporate move $10 billion in international field workplace gross sales. The identical yr, it closed the unprecedented, $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox, creating a world content material powerhouse.
Whereas Iger constructed a fame as talent-friendly, Chapek’s fame amongst creatives took a success in July 2021 when the dispute with Johansson over the day-and-date streaming launch of Black Widow went public. The star filed a lawsuit claiming the studio was sacrificing its field workplace potential with a view to juice Disney+.
Their differing types and approaches led to one thing of an oil and water relationship between the 2 Bobs. As THR‘s Kim Masters reported final yr, at what was to be his final formal Disney board retreat with the corporate, Iger implored everybody within the room to deal with the virtues of creativity and expertise.
Disney’s market cap was roughly $55 billion when Iger took over in 2005, rose to $260 billion in January 2020, and has fallen to $167 billion as of Friday.
“I’m extraordinarily optimistic for the way forward for this nice firm and thrilled to be requested by the Board to return as its CEO,” Iger stated in an announcement. “Disney and its incomparable manufacturers and franchises maintain a particular place within the hearts of so many individuals across the globe—most particularly within the hearts of our staff, whose dedication to this firm and its mission is an inspiration. I’m deeply honored to be requested to once more lead this exceptional group, with a transparent mission centered on artistic excellence to encourage generations by means of unmatched, daring storytelling.”
Iger advised staff in his observe that he’ll tackle the corporate on Monday, with different senior leaders.
“I do know this firm has requested a lot of you throughout the previous three years, and these occasions actually stay fairly difficult, however as you’ve heard me say earlier than, I’m an optimist, and if I realized one factor from my years at Disney, it’s that even within the face of uncertainty—maybe particularly within the face of uncertainty—our staff and Solid Members obtain the not possible,” he wrote.
Aaron Sofa contributed to this report.
