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HomeCultureBob Iger steps down as CEO of Walt Disney Company

Bob Iger steps down as CEO of Walt Disney Company

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Daily US Times, New York: Bob Iger has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company (DIS). Iger’s transfer, announced Tuesday, is effective immediately.

Bob Iger noted that Bob Chapek will be only the seventh chief executive to move the company since its founding in 1923. Earlier than Bob Chapek joined Disney in 1993, he worked for H.J. Heinz and in advertising for J. Walter Thompson.

Bob Iger will proceed as Disney chairman through the end of his contract on December 31, 2021. Disney mentioned  Bob Iger would proceed to lead the company’s creative endeavours.

Bob Chapek will take over as CEO. Chapek was beforehand in charges of the company’s division that oversaw theme parks and consumer products.

Bob Iger was instrumental in guiding Disney

Iger was named president and COO of Disney in 2000 and have become CEO in 2005, taking up for Michael Eisner, whose tenure was ended by a shareholder revolt led by Roy E. Disney, who wished to shake up the company’s administration.

Iger was instrumental in guiding Disney into the streaming age and thru its acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business— a deal value $52.4 billion when it was first announced.

Under Bob Iger, Disney went on an acquisition spree that has given it one of the deepest libraries of family-friendly content of any media firm, including Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm.

On a phone call with investors following the announcement, Iger mentioned the change will allow him to give attention to the creative aspect of Disney, something he couldn’t do in his role as CEO. He mentioned his determination to step down wasn’t accelerated for another reason.

Bob Chapek had been seen by Disney’s board of administrators as Iger’s successor “for a while now,” Bob Iger mentioned. He said the immediate change will also give him more time to collaborate with Bob Chapek earlier than 2021.

Two factors that led to the decision

Bob Iger mentioned there have been two factors that led to Tuesday’s determination: how greatest to handle the company in its present type and the way best to manage succession and transition. Iger mentioned making the change now provided the best outcome for the company.

The company announced the transfer in a press release.

Whereas the news got here as a surprise Tuesday, Bob Iger had been planning his succession for some time. Final yr, at Disney’s investor convention he mentioned: “2021 would be the time for me to lastly step down.”

Successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses: Bob Iger

“With the successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses and the combination of Twenty-First Century Fox effectively underway, I consider that is the optimum time to transition to a new CEO,” Bob Iger mentioned.

“I have the utmost confidence in Bob and look forward to working carefully with him over the next 22 months as he assumes this new role and delves deeper into Disney’s multifaceted international companies and operations, while I proceed to focus on the Company’s creative endeavours.”

The query of who would succeed Bob Iger has been a prime topic of speculation in business circles as well as the broader enterprise arena for several years.

Bob Chapek has long been seen as a contender for the job, given his different experience and long tenure with Disney, however different Disney executives have been seen as having a greater shot due to their proximity to the high-priority property for the company.

Iger has built Disney into the most admired and successful media

“I’m extremely honoured and humbled to assume the role of CEO of what I really believe is the greatest company on this planet, and to lead our exceptionally gifted and devoted forged members and workers,” Bob Chapek mentioned.

“Bob Iger has built Disney into the most admired and successful media and entertainment firm, and I’ve been fortunate to take pleasure in a front-row seat as a member of his management team.

I share his commitment to creative excellence, technological innovation and worldwide growth, and I’ll proceed to embrace these similar strategic pillars going forward.

Everything we’ve achieved up to now serves as a strong foundation for further creative storytelling, bold innovation and considerate risk-taking.”

Bob Chapek has headed Disney’s theme park division since 2015. In 2018, he was upped to the chairman of Parks, Experiences and Merchandise. Earlier than that, Bob Chapek held a variety of senior administration positions, operating consumer products, film distribution and home leisure at varied occasions.

Disney cited Bob Chapek’s success in launching Shanghai Disney Resort and “Star Wars”-themed lands in domestic parks as examples of the ability that received him the promotion to CEO.

Who’s Bob Iger

According to Wikipedia, Robert Allen Bob Iger born February 10, 1951. He’s a retired American media executive, movie producer, creator and businessman who’s Executive Chairman and former CEO of The Walt Disney Company.

Earlier than working for Disney, Bob Iger served as the President of ABC Television from 1994 to 1995, and as President/COO of Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. from 1995 until Disney’s acquisition of the company in 1996.

He was named President and COO of Disney in 2000 and later succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005, after a successful effort by Roy E. Disney to shake up the administration of the company.

Bob Iger Just Stepped Down as Disney CEO Effective Immediately

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