News The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors Extends Robert A. Iger’s Contract as CEO Through 2026

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I agree - it's hurting many companies this mentality.

I saw it in a major (once major?) Canadian restaurant I worked for. As soon as it was acquired and put under a big corporate umbrella, you saw the ethos of a once local brand turn country wide chain trying to match others vs chart their own course, and watering down everything that once made it unique and special.

It’s odd how it’s so obvious to normal people but the companies don’t see it. Here in Vegas most the independent casinos have been bought out by the major corporations/hedge funds over the years and they’re all worse for it. Properties like the Hard Rock or Palms once dominated the party scene and made unbelievable amounts of money, then they got bought, were made generic, had all the fees and add ons added, and now they are ghost towns… you see it year after year after year, the big companies buy the “popular” thing, ruin it, then buy the next “popular” thing, ruin it, and the cycle continues, it really makes me wonder what the goal is. At some point there’s going to be nothing popular left to ruin, then what?

 

[Disney Analyst]

It’s odd how it’s so obvious to normal people but the companies don’t see it. Here in Vegas most the independent casinos have been bought out by the major corporations/hedge funds over the years and they’re all worse for it. Properties like the Hard Rock or Palms once dominated the party scene and made unbelievable amounts of money, then they got bought, were made generic, had all the fees and add ons added, and now they are ghost towns… you see it year after year after year, the big companies buy the “popular” thing, ruin it, then buy the next “popular” thing, ruin it, and the cycle continues, it really makes me wonder what the goal is. At some point there’s going to be nothing popular left to ruin, then what?

It's like Sprinkles cupcakes, perfect example.

The old founder was sad and shocked to see all these people lose their jobs...but did you expect any less when you sell your company to groups that strip the bones clean until there is nothing left? At least her future is secure...

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Eisner in the end was just plain bad. Unfortunately, so was Iger. I agree with much of the above post. The early acquisitions should have set Disney up with years of great success. The purchase of Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel have made billions for Disney - not just movie receipts but also merchandising. These IP's have been so horribly miss managed. The purchase of Fox turned out to be a bridge too far. Yet 20 years from now there will be those who will wax poetic on the great Iger era, while trashing how horrible D'Amaro has become. Rinse and repeat.

The Eisner era made Disney the current juggernaut they are. That can’t be disputed. He did falter in his later years quite a bit due to a mix of things.

Iger was on track to expand that quite a bit…10 years looking good.

But in a case of past prologue…has slipped significantly. The least 8 or so years have left them in an overall bad position

What did they both have in common? Too long…way too long

And the “search” at the overdue replacements have been pathetic. You reap what you sow

 

[_caleb]

Eisner in the end was just plain bad. Unfortunately, so was Iger. I agree with much of the above post. The early acquisitions should of set Disney up with years of great success. The purchase of Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel have made billions for Disney - not just movie receipts but also merchandising. These IP's have been so horribly miss managed. The purchase of Fox turned out to be a bridge too far. Yet 20 years from now there will be those who will wax poetic on the great Iger era, while trashing how horrible D'Amaro has become. Rinse and repeat.

I suppose a good bit of this hinges on how involved the CEO chooses to be. Eisner was notoriously a micro-manager, so he probably deserved a lot of the blame.

I don't think for a minute that Kevin Feige ever went out of his way to consult Bob Iger on She-Hulk. I'm not sure the showrunner even consulted Feige on She-Hulk, other than the silly finale scene!

Point is, while the buck stops with the CEO, the management (or mismanagement) of IP isn't usually the direct fault of the CEO. We like to scapegoat Iger for things that might better be pinned on department heads, WDI, park ops, producers, legal departments, etc.

 

[parksandtravel]

The Eisner era made Disney the current juggernaut they are. That can’t be disputed. He did falter in his later years quite a bit due to a mix of things.

Iger was on track to expand that quite a bit…10 years looking good.

But in a case of past prologue…has slipped significantly. The least 8 or so years have left them in an overall bad position

What did they both have in common? Too long…way too long

And the “search” at the overdue replacements have been pathetic. You reap what you sow

For WDW you can make a case for that, but not for the rest of the company. When Mike Eisner left he left a lot of fires for his successor to put out, Pixar was on the way out, animated movies were flopping, Disneyland was burning because of DCA, DLP was a money sink.

 

[HMF]

I think Disney CEOs need a term limit, th

In this day and age, all CEO's really should. It really is weird that we are supposed to encourage democracy, but major companies essentially operate as mini dictatorships these days.

 

[HMF]

Short-term returns is the expectation under the current state of capitalism.

I believe the current state is on its way out, but I don't want to turn this into an economics lecture.

 

[HMF]

People get hired for being visionaries, they turn into corporate overlords concerned with short term returns because that’s how they stay in power.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 

[HMF]

I think Iger's DHS is less interesting than Eisner's Disney-MGM. They are both "half day" parks, but while the DHS attraction lineup is stronger (although I personally don't like most of them), it's generally worse in most other areas.

What, you think the theme of "learning how movies are made" is better than" random lands haphazardly thrown together at random?"

 

[HMF]

I suppose a good bit of this hinges on how involved the CEO chooses to be. Eisner was notoriously a micro-manager, so he probably deserved a lot of the blame.

I don't think for a minute that Kevin Feige ever went out of his way to consult Bob Iger on She-Hulk. I'm not sure the showrunner even consulted Feige on She-Hulk, other than the silly finale scene!

Point is, while the buck stops with the CEO, the management (or mismanagement) of IP isn't usually the direct fault of the CEO. We like to scapegoat Iger for things that might better be pinned on department heads, WDI, park ops, producers, legal departments, etc.

I agree Eisner's micro-management style was problematic. But Iger's obvious lack of passion and formulaic approach wasn't exactly great either.

 

[HMF]

animated movies were flopping

Killing hand -drawn animation should not have been the solution though.

 

[HMF]

Disneyland was burning because of DCA,

Disneyland started burning the moment Paul Pressler walked into the TDA building, It wasn't all DCA, though admittedly it was a large part of it.

 

[BrianLo]

So in the end: Iger left, a little early, on good terms, in a fairly organized and sign-posted fashion.

Though I probably shouldn't expect any accountability of the missed predictions to the contrary.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

For WDW you can make a case for that, but not for the rest of the company. When Mike Eisner left he left a lot of fires for his successor to put out, Pixar was on the way out, animated movies were flopping, Disneyland was burning because of DCA, DLP was a money sink.

He failed technology transition in a lot of ways…

And all that other stuff was commitments that lead to over expansion…they weren’t capitalized to sustain it at that time. A couple of back to back recessions didn’t help much…

Pixar was Eisner’s ego and temper. He didnt get along with Steve Jobs. Who Bob let dictate the direction of the whole operation for a couple years (he was scared of him)…and was bailed out by his death.
Serendipity for bob.

Actually…Bob had a lot of serendipity…the last 15 years the power brokers have “outlawed” recessions…which is dangerous and unnatural. But helps a company like Disney more than ANY.

His luck has run dry a lot the last few years. The clover turned brown

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In this day and age, all CEO's really should. It rally is weird that we are supposed to encourage democracy, but major companies essentially operate as mini dictatorships these days.

You can be stale and run Starbucks…or an airline…or a brokerage

Can you think of a company where stale is WORSE than Disney?
I can’t think of one.

They sell emotions…you have to constantly trigger them.

 

[HMF]

Pixar was Eisner’s ego and temper. He didnt get along with Steve Jobs. Who Bob let dictate the direction of the whole operation for a couple years (he was scared of him)…and was bailed out by his death.
Serendipity for bob.

Yes, so much so that I am 100% certain the person in the 2007 SSE garage scene is not supposed to be him. (sarcasm)

 

[LSLS]

So in the end: Iger left, a little early, on good terms, in a fairly organized and sign-posted fashion.

Though I probably shouldn't expect any accountability of the missed predictions to the contrary.

I mean, he's not actually gone yet. And most of us were making jokes because he never really left before (and his short term return added what, like 2 or 3 years before he potentially moved on?).

 

[GimpYancIent]

I mean, he's not actually gone yet. And most of us were making jokes because he never really left before (and his short term return added what, like 2 or 3 years before he potentially moved on?).

Move on? Leave? Gone? More like not in a position, readily visible, but lingering in the shadows, hanging around in the background lurking.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So in the end: Iger left, a little early, on good terms, in a fairly organized and sign-posted fashion.

Though I probably shouldn't expect any accountability of the missed predictions to the contrary.

How are things in dimension X these days?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Move on? Leave? Gone? More like not in a position, readily visible, but lingering in the shadows, hanging around in the background lurking.

It’s a terrible look.

Someone can’t tell the difference between themself and their job

It’s a forced attempt at a cult of personality
Alot of That going around