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Bob Iger Returns as Disney CEO, Bob Chapek Out

Nobody_Important

“Aww, it’s so...average,” she said to him in a cold brick of passion
In a major shock, Bob Iger is back as CEO of Disney, replacing current chief Bob Chapek effective immediately. The company announced the news in a memo Sunday night:

“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.



Bye bye Bob.


Hello Bob.
 

ManaByte

Member
the king has returned GIF
 

Meicyn

Member
Good. Everyone there loves him. He's the best CEO they've had since Walt died. I've met him, and he should stay until he can't do it anymore.
I agree, Chapek was out of his depth. He was the equivalent of Steve Ballmer during Microsoft’s worst period. Some folks aren’t cut out for that kind of role.

I wonder how they convinced him to come back tbh.

Wasn't he completely done and retired?
He was, but money talks. That and seeing your legacy trashed before your eyes.
 
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MrMephistoX

Member
Holy fuck this is the only good news from the last 2 weeks not election related. As someone who quit my job at Disney for better pay elsewhere I would go back in a heartbeat with Iger back.

Not sure why but the Variety link died so this is double confirmation.

 
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ManaByte

Member
What do you think he will materially do to change things? I can't say I can think of anything.

Disney saw the writing on the wall for the massive bomb that Strange World will be (it's an animated sci-fi movie with a gay teen romance in it), and after the Lightyear flop, Florida disaster, and their quarterly report; Chapek was fired.

Iger is going to likely tone back that sort of political virtue signaling, drastically improve relationships on the creative side (which Iger was master at), and turn around the company's profits.
Hasnt Bob Iger left and returned before? Maybe Im wrong.

No, he just could never name a successor before they were driven from the company. He was supposed to retire twice before Chapek became CEO.
 
His presence and experience alone will be enough. The confidence that he will bring back to the company will make waves.
I dont doubt that part. Im just wondering about the rest of the options for actual concrete changes. I ask because I think he may struggle succeeding this time. I dont see too much he can do to drastically alter course. But he's definitely the better ceo so it will be interesting to watch if he can pull it off again.
 

ManaByte

Member
I was at WDW two weeks ago and NO ONE could understand why they extended Chapek's contract. I think every Disney CM in Florida wants his head on a pike for what he did there, it damaged the company more than it helped people in CA like him.

I couldn't be shocked if Iger patches things up with Florida right away and their special status for Celebration is restored.
 

lachesis

Member
Just got the email about 40 min ago.
I am beginning to wonder what may happen at work from tomorrow. I do a lot of stuff for execs, so it would be interesting to see their responses.
Of course he was only truly gone for like 1 year? He left but came back, and it was like having 2 heads for a while... then gone like poof on one night.
 
I was at WDW two weeks ago and NO ONE could understand why they extended Chapek's contract. I think every Disney CM in Florida wants his head on a pike for what he did there, it damaged the company more than it helped people in CA like him.

I couldn't be shocked if Iger patches things up with Florida right away and their special status for Celebration is restored.
Its beneficial politically for DeSantis to appear as if he's holding their feet to the fire and extracting concessions. Especially for the next 2 years.
 

Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
Disney saw the writing on the wall for the massive bomb that Strange World will be (it's an animated sci-fi movie with a gay teen romance in it), and after the Lightyear flop, Florida disaster, and their quarterly report; Chapek was fired.

Iger is going to likely tone back that sort of political virtue signaling, drastically improve relationships on the creative side (which Iger was master at), and turn around the company's profits.


No, he just could never name a successor before they were driven from the company. He was supposed to retire twice before Chapek became CEO.
I want Strange World to be a big flop for Disney, so that they learn their lesson... that they make movies like the ones they made in the 40's to 90's
 

Elginer

Member
Good. Everyone there loves him. He's the best CEO they've had since Walt died. I've met him, and he should stay until he can't do it anymore.
Agreed. Dude has a sense of the huge honor and responsibility it was to be in his role. It was a balancing act of sorts not a let’s milk this tucking cow til it’s dead.
 

MrMephistoX

Member
I dont doubt that part. Im just wondering about the rest of the options for actual concrete changes. I ask because I think he may struggle succeeding this time. I dont see too much he can do to drastically alter course. But he's definitely the better ceo so it will be interesting to watch if he can pull it off again.
The guy made some of the smartest purchasing decisions in the history of entertainment and turned disney from producing lackluster shit like Treasure Planet and The lone Ranger to an unparalleled IP machine whose animated films once again lived up to the hype and probably have surpassed Pixar in a lot of respects. Chapek is the type of CEO who is so focused on short term profits preserving existing business models and revenue streams that he never would have greenlit Disney Plus in the first place but Iger was on that trend as soon as ESPN started losing cable revenue. The production values on D+ shows that started production while he was in charge vs shows that got their budgets cut under Chapek is pretty stark. Like they spared no expense on Mando and Andor but Book of Boba looked like a made for TV movie. Chapek has even cheapened the theme park experience while trying to charge more.
 
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Meicyn

Member
What do you think he will materially do to change things? I can't say I can think of anything.
He will probably decentralize decision making, for one. Chapek basically ripped a lot of power away from divisions and centralized budgeting, determining who got however much money.

The more centralization you have, the less empowered leaders are, strangling motivation, killing innovation, and ultimately crippling overall productivity.

I brought up Steve Ballmer earlier because his sole decision to introduce stack ranking for performance ratings within the company took Microsoft down for like, a decade.
 
Anyone want to do a quick recap about Chepak? Good, bad, etc...?

Looks like disney stock is down 50% from highs which surprisingly was during covid.

Just curious to know what things he did, and which big things he did were covid related and which had nothing to do with the pandemic. Covid lock downs made companies do rash decisions.
 

ManaByte

Member
Agreed. Dude has a sense of the huge honor and responsibility it was to be in his role. It was a balancing act of sorts not a let’s milk this tucking cow til it’s dead.

Not just that. Iger understood the delicate balance between the business side and the creative side. He never meddled like Eisner and Chapek did. Chapek forced Dr Strange 2 and Thor 4 to have 2 hour runtimes to allow more showtimes and more money. Iger never meddled like that. He gave feedback (he HATED the first cut of Rogue One, but then they brought in Gilroy and the result was what we got), but he always allowed the creative side to do their thing without trying to take control of it.

I'd recommend everyone read his book.
 

ZehDon

Member
And in a little under two years. I knew Chapek wasn't doing well, but I didn't realise it quite that bad. Now I'm curious to see what immediate changes he ushers in.
 

LordCBH

Member
Hopefully he can light some fires under peoples asses. I’ve been so underwhelmed by most things they’ve been putting out. It’s all felt so bland and safe.
 
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Nobody_Important

“Aww, it’s so...average,” she said to him in a cold brick of passion
I dont doubt that part. Im just wondering about the rest of the options for actual concrete changes. I ask because I think he may struggle succeeding this time. I dont see too much he can do to drastically alter course. But he's definitely the better ceo so it will be interesting to watch if he can pull it off again.
There are always moves to be made. It's just a matter of having the confidence to make them, the company having the trust in you to let you make them, and the ability to motivate those under you to make it happen. Iger has all of that. I don't think it will be a dramatic sky rocket of success or anything, but he will get things turned around and put back into order.


He just needs to make sure that the next time he retires he doesn't hand the reins over to another idiot.
 
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Where's the story or analysis here?
Clearly there's some big shit happening in the background but I haven't see an article.
Earnings weren't great and Bob sounded a bit tone-deaf at the earnings, but what's really happening?
 

lachesis

Member
2021: The Year Dr. Evil Nearly Killed Disney

I do kinda feel bad for Chapek though. Tough timing.
I really don't understand why they chose Chapek to begin with, honestly.... It was one of the "huh" moment when he was announced as a successor.
Some corporate politics, that I sometimes don't understand - but I don't like to burn bridges in any cases.

Oh well, another wind of change to blow... I guess? and will see how this would go.
 

ManaByte

Member
Anyone want to do a quick recap about Chepak? Good, bad, etc...?

Everyone at Disney loved Iger. He was the new "uncle Walt". Chapek was desperate for people to like him, so he did incredibly stupid stuff like taking a political stance against a Florida law that didn't do what he thought it did and completely nuked the company's valuable relationship with the state. He also let the inmates run the asylum, and there are leaked Zoom calls where they admit they are trying to use the studio's animated films to groom children. Twitter for a while was insta-banning people for talking about "Disney Groomers", that's how protected it was. The result was a half-second lesbian kiss in Lightyear that sparked a boycott and the movie flopped, and now Strange World is projected to be a massive bomb for the studio because it includes a "stunning and brave" gay teen romance in it.

But beyond his stupid political pandering to a small vocal minority in the company, Chapek also killed the parks. He implemented a reservation system that limits how many people can go every day, he completely destroyed the annual pass program, and implement a Genie+ program that is just made to nickel and dime families and squeeze even more money out of them. Want the lightning lane for Space Mountain? That'll be $15 per ride!
 

Meicyn

Member
Hopefully he can light some fires u see peoples asses. I’ve been so underwhelmed by most things they’ve been putting out. It’s all felt so bland and safe.
All Iger has to do is restore power back to the leaders at each division and trust them to make good decisions, as it was when he was running the show. Those folks got those positions in the first place by earning them and it was insane for Chapek to think he knew better and to sway decision making for the sake of pursuing more money. Folks like Chapek don’t understand the why of successful companies.

When leaders treat you like you’re twelve and remove decision-making away from you, you’re unlikely to give it your all. Such environments tend to cultivate malicious compliance.
 

lachesis

Member


My clock says 9:43pm, but I guess some folks in the company got it sooner. Yes, that's the email.
I like Iger - seen him a few times outside the building smoking (he may have quit) with thick make up on.
Anyhow him coming from TV background, he always emphasized the storytelling - which I think company desperately needs these days.

I'm actually wondering who will be the next ceo - because I think it's probably his intention to be an interim. He is after all, 71 years old.
 

lachesis

Member
You ever talk to him? I got to once at Disneyland. He came off as someone who would take time to talk to even a custodian picking up horse shit at the park.

Nah - but we did nod to each other passing by, and been around him when he was making speeches in the company events and stuff.
He's cool guy, especially because he also looked after our branch well too.
 

Ecotic

Member
This was just totally bungled. Chapek was a poor fit and chosen as a last resort because the search for a good successor had failed. An interim CEO should have been appointed after Iger left until a better CEO could be chosen.
 
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