Whether you love him or hate him, there’s no arguing thatBob Igerwill go down as one of the most beloved and influential CEOs in the long history ofDisney. When he announced his retirement several years ago, it was seen as a major transitionary moment for the legendary Hollywood company. Iger had led the company for over a decade, through some of the biggest successes in the storied history of the Mouse House, so naturally there was a lot of anticipation and nervousness about what would come next for the company. As his successor, Bob Chapek, took over and began to move the company in a new direction, it quickly became clear that things weren’t going to go nearly as well under his leadership. Now, in an unexpected turn of events,Iger has returnedto the role of CEO for the Walt Disney Company, to the delight of many.
This major reversal for the company has a lot of people asking a lot of questions. It was clear that change was needed, but few expected that it would happen so quickly and so dramatically. Chapek’s contract with Disney had recently been renewed, and he was expected to be on-board the company for several more years at least. The sudden reversal back to Iger seems like a good idea, but to what end? With Iger’s new term as CEO only set to run for two years, he certainly has a lot on his plate to keep him busy. However, as exciting as Iger’s return may be for a lot of people, is the move a sign of progression for the company? Or is it floundering and unable to decide what the best path forward is?
History With the Company
Iger has an outstanding history with Disney, and it’s easy to see why going back to him would seem like such a great move for the company. He first came into the company through its purchase of ABC, where he was working at the time. Over the following years, he would work his way up through the Disney ranks. Eventually, he was chosen to replace long-time CEO Michael Eisner, who had held the position for over 20 years. In the following 15-year reign of Iger, he brought Disney into the 21st Century and led it to some of the most growth and success it has ever seen.
Iger’s initial term as CEO has largely been defined by the various acquisitions the company made during that time. Iger was instrumental in growing Disney from the family-friendly entertainment powerhouse it used to be into the truly enormous media conglomerate it has become. The empire of different brands and companies now living in the Mouse House were almost entirely invited in by Iger. Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm,20th Century Fox, and morewere all purchased and merged into the company during Iger’s tenure. The man is a notoriously effective and determined negotiator, which directly led to each and every one of these major acquisitions. Iger recounted all of this journey through Disney with great detail in his book,The Ride of a Lifetime, which also, unsurprisingly, was widely acclaimed upon its release in 2019.
Iger’s run at Disney didn’t end as many executives’ careers do. He wasn’t at a low point in his career that led to him being ousted for a replacement. In fact, many Disney employees and fans were distraught to hear he was leaving. He was riding high, with the recent launch of Disney+ successfully bringing the company to incredible success in uncharted territory. Over the course of his career with Disney, Iger was considered to be the true successor to Walt Disney in the eyes of many. He was thought to be a forward-thinking, immensely creative and business-savvy executive who could make pretty much anything happen. When he left Disney in 2020, it was the end of an era. Or rather, it was thought to be, as nobody expected he would be back in less than three years.
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Passing the Reigns to Bob Chapek
Chapek, who had come up through the Parks division of the company, was selected as Iger’s replacement in early 2020. He was then tasked with tackling a monumental problem that even Iger had never had to deal with: how to keep the company successfully running through a global pandemic. While Disney managed to come out of the pandemic mostly in one piece, it was far from smooth sailing all the way through. Parks were shut down, productions were halted and nearly everything was thrown into an uneasy sense of limbo. There were also numerous failed film release strategies that resulted in tumultuous relationships with creatives, on-screen talent and fans. One of the most well-known and infamous examples of which is the extended legal battle the company got into withBlack Widowstar Scarlett Johanssonin 2021.
Fans of the Disney Parks have alsogrown increasingly frustrated with Chapekand his running of the company over the last couple of years. With many new changes to how the parks were run and how much it actually cost to be able to get the full experience, going to a Disney Park has, to many people, become way too much trouble for what it is worth. Die-hard fans of the parks had already held a distaste for Chapek (giving him nicknames like “Cheapek” and “Paycheck” online) throughout much of his time running that portion of the company while Iger was in charge. When Chapek then took over running Disney as a whole, things went from bad to worse. While Chapek managed to get the company through the pandemic fine, his control over the company has really started to falter in the time since. Stock prices have dropped, audience satisfaction with both the parks and the films has sunk, and overall the Disney brand has lost a lot of its usual luster over the last few years.
Though they may share a first name, it’s painfully apparent at this point that Chapek is no Iger. He’s not the hardy executive and relentless businessman that Iger is. Following Iger would be a monumental task for anyone. That doesn’t make Chapek’s failures any less, though. He failed to follow through on any of the company’s strengths that Iger left him with. When Iger resigned in 2020, Disney was doing wonderfully. All of its core brands were at a high point and the success of Disney+ was only continuing to grow. In the years since, there has been a company-wide decline in quality and magic. It’s a major problem for a company that has dominated the entertainment industry for a century now, and Chapek’s sudden firing speaks to how seriously Disney’s board and investors have taken the issue.
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Can Iger Right the Ship?
Bringing Iger back is a desperate move, no doubt. In his statement following the announcement he even acknowledged that it’s something that he never expected to happen. That said, Iger’s return to Disney might just be the shot in the arm that the company needs. It’s easy to see that, while there have certainly been successes, Disney has not been living up to its esteemed reputation over the last few years under Chapek’s direction. The constant stream of Disney+ contenthas been largely sub-par, key franchises like Marvel and Star Wars have felt increasingly watered down and directionless, and the company has generally not sparked the usual amount of joy and delight from its core audience as it typically does.
Now, is Iger’s return an instant fix-all? No, not by any means. For all we know, the changes that Iger is, and will be making in the future could end up bringing the company from bad to worse. However, that seems unlikely considering the extensive success he has brought to the company before. With the two-year ride that he has been brought back for, it’s clear that Iger’s return isn’t seen as a long-term decision for the company. Rather, he has likely just been brought back to fix the damage that has been done. Then, he will get the chance to try again at passing the company’s leadership off to somebody else at the end of these couple of years. That doesn’t mean that Iger is going to immediately undo all of Chapek’s decisions, but there are definitely going to be some major adjustments to change the trajectory of the company and get it back to where it was only a few years ago.
It was largely Iger’s decision to have Chapek be his successor in the first place. Chapek’s failure as CEO reflects poorly on Iger’s legacy. This is a chance for Iger to firmlyre-establish a strong positive legacyfor himself and the company he has led for so many years. These oncoming couple of years that Iger is back are likely going to be all repair-work. They are trying to fix the overall image and creative success of the company, not double down on everything it has been doing for the last three years. With that, don’t expect any drastic decisions like Disney buying WB or something like that. Iger has been given a second chance to leave Disney in competent hands; that is where his focus will be. Now let’s just hope that things will turn out for the better this time around.
