Bob Iger Disney (YouTube clip)
Apparently, when Bob Iger stepped down as the head of Disney in 2020 he never really stepped aside and made it difficult, to say the least, for his successor Bob Chapek to really take over. Iger even went so far as to keep his offices at the company.
According to a CNBC report, Bob Iger refused to give up his enormous office at Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California. The office has a private shower and other facilities that Iger just could not bring himself to give up. And Iger insisted on staying on in the role of “executive chairman” for 22 months.
Now, imagine of after a new US president is inaugurated the previous one continues to sit in the Oval Office at the White House for another two years and is, in effect, the new president’s boss. This does not sound like a very effective way to run an organization, does it?
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It also seems that Iger regretted his appointment of Bob Chapek almost from the start. CNBC said that Bob Iger did things that people felt were intended to undermine Chapek.
The big break between Iger and Chapek came during the Covid crisis when the two could not agree on what steps to take as Disney parks were shuttered.
Bob Chapek left Disney at the end of 2022.
Bob Iger is an American businessman who served as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 2005 to 2020. During his tenure, he oversaw the acquisition of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox, which transformed Disney into a major player in the entertainment industry. He also oversaw the opening of the Disney theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and the launch of the Disney+ streaming service.
Iger was born in New York City in 1951. He graduated from the University of Michigan and the Harvard Business School. He began his career at ABC in 1973, and he rose through the ranks of the company. In 1996, he was named president of ABC Entertainment. In 2000, he was named president and CEO of the Walt Disney Company.
As CEO, Bob Iger made a number of strategic decisions that helped to grow Disney’s business. He acquired Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion, which gave Disney access to Pixar’s animated film library and its talent. In 2009, he acquired Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion, which gave Disney the rights to the Marvel Comics characters. In 2012, he acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, which gave Disney the rights to the Star Wars franchise. In 2019, he acquired 21st Century Fox for $71.3 billion, which gave Disney the rights to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Avatar franchises.
Bob Iger also oversaw the opening of the Disney theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and the launch of the Disney+ streaming service. Disney+ is a subscription streaming service that offers a library of Disney movies, TV shows, and original content. It launched in 2019 and has become a major success, with over 130 million subscribers worldwide.
