The times they are a changin‘. Well, probably not much.
Disney has made an announcement that Bob Iger, who has headed Disney as CEO for the last 15 years has stepped down, taking the post of executive chairman until his contract ends on December 31, 2021.
Mr. Iger sounded extremely magnanimous over his replacing:
“With the successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO.”
Bob Iger presided over much of Disney’s expansion, including the acquisition of the 20th Fox brand, the purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd — essentially just the Star Wars brand — from George Lucas, and the acquisition of Marvel Entertainment.
The Marvel purchase was an outstanding success, Lucasfilm… not so much and nothing has come out of the purchase of 20th Century Fox so far.
The hope is that 20th Century Fox will follow the trajectory of the MCU rather than Lucasfilm, but we shall have to wait and see.
Step Forward, Those Who Would Serve
Bob Iger has been replaced by Bob Chapek, who has most recently served as Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Product. Mr. Chapek has twenty-seven years of experience in the Walt Disney company.
There are some concerns about Bob Chapek as CEO, at least from those who’ve watched the cycle of ever-increasing prices at Disneyland parks.
Disney insiders have him pegged as a money-man whose obsession with increasing profits continually comes at the expense of customer satisfaction. His policies seem to revolve around cutting costs at one end and raising prices at the other.
That said, he does have the guidance of Mr. Iger for the next two years.
What that will mean for the Walt Disney company going forward remains to be seen.
Will the Marvel Cinematic Universe continue on its predictable descent into obvious and ham-fisted pandering to identity politics?
Will Lucasfilm finally get its act together and rediscover its roots as the premium cinema franchise brand?
Will Kathleen Kennedy still have a job tomorrow?
We will be here to accurately predict all of these events and then report them.
