Bob Chapek's successor at the head of Disney has been chosen by the board of directors and it is… his predecessor!
Bob Iger will indeed return to the head of the group, while the one who had been chosen to take over from him was dismissed bluntly, if not with a press release.
“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic.
The Board of Directors has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely positioned to lead the Company through this pivotal time…” said Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board of Directors, as relayed by
The Hollywood Reporter
.
Disney man
Bob Iger had left Disney in 2020, announcing that he intended to focus on his memoirs.
He had also been involved in an investment fund.
But for someone who has spent his entire career at Mickey (he started in the 1970s at ABC), it seemed complicated to draw a definitive line on his “home”.
As Disney emerges from several months where the group accumulates losses in streaming (1.5 billion dollars in the last quarter), it was necessary to bring back the one who had presided over the greatest growth in the history of the society.
In 2006, under Bob Iger's leadership, Disney acquired Pixar, then Marvel in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012, turning it into an entertainment juggernaut that generated $10 billion in box office revenue in 2019.
Another element that has not forgiven: the fall in the stock market.
When Bob Iger took over the reins of Disney in 2005, its market capitalization was $55 billion, and it had grown to $260 billion in January 2020, just before he left.
Since then, it has dropped to 167 billion.
For the old-new boss of Disney, the mission is clear.
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