News Bob Iger Steps Down - Bob Chapek CEO

[TP2000]

Y'all keep saying that Bob Jr. (Bob's Big Boy?) looked nauseous. Maybe that's just his face. Doesn't he always look like that? Maybe he suffers from RNF (resting nauseous face).

I was too busy watching Big Bob's body language when Bob Jr. was talking: arms folded, head down, jaw clenched. It was fascinating.

Wasn't it great?!? I think I'm going to cue up that CNBC interview on my big TV screen this evening and enjoy my Friday night cocktail watching it again. I'm sure on a big TV screen it's going to be even better.

You almost feel sorry for Bob Jr. over this whole thing. And yet he should be thrilled as he just got a big promotion and is one of the most powerful executives in the free world now. A titan of industry! But he needs an air sickness bag...

 

[TP2000]

Before I go make a cocktail and kick off the weekend by watching that hilarious CNBC interview on the big screen, I have this thought...

What if there's nothing nefarious or sinister behind all this? What if there's nothing conspiratorial going on? Sure, this obviously wasn't planned out in advance since they have no replacements below Bob Jr. lined up and have a lot of questions still to answer.

But what if this was just Bob Iger looking at the world today, looking at himself in the mirror and the advancing birth date on his driver's license, checking out both his healthy bank account and his very attractive wife, and saying to himself... You know what? I'm done dealing with all this expletive deleted. I'm well past retirement age. I'd like to play some golf and take my wife to a private island retreat in the South Pacific for two weeks. I'm done wearing this stupid plastic nametag at media events, and I'm out of here! See ya Mouseketeers!

I would have a great deal of respect for Mr. Iger if that was all that is behind this sudden change. He certainly earned it, and he should enjoy it!

Unless something proves to me otherwise, I'm going to just go with that scenario and raise a toast to Bob Iger while I watch that CNBC interview again. I hope he enjoys his well-deserved retirement and I thank him for his service to the Walt Disney Company! Cheers Mr. Iger!

Now, someone ask the stewardess to bring Bob Jr. another air sickness bag, quick.

 

[Nunu]

Before I go make a cocktail and kick off the weekend by watching that hilarious CNBC interview on the big screen, I have this thought...

What if there's nothing nefarious or sinister behind all this? What if there's nothing conspiratorial going on? Sure, this obviously wasn't planned out in advance since they have no replacements below Bob Jr. lined up and have a lot of questions still to answer.

But what if this was just Bob Iger looking at the world today, looking at himself in the mirror and the advancing birth date on his driver's license, checking out both his healthy bank account and his very attractive wife, and saying to himself... You know what? I'm done dealing with all this expletive deleted. I'm well past retirement age. I'd like to play some golf and take my wife to a private island retreat in the South Pacific for two weeks. I'm done wearing this stupid plastic nametag at media events, and I'm out of here! See ya Mouseketeers!

I would have a great deal of respect for Mr. Iger if that was all that is behind this sudden change. He certainly earned it, and he should enjoy it!

Unless something proves to me otherwise, I'm going to just go with that scenario and raise a toast to Bob Iger while I watch that CNBC interview again. I hope he enjoys his well-deserved retirement and I thank him for his service to the Walt Disney Company! Cheers Mr. Iger!

Now, someone ask the stewardess to bring Bob Jr. another air sickness bag, quick.

I agree. I didn't want to think about the possibility of a serious health issue being the reason for Bob Iger's stepping down so suddenly. I hope you're right. He looks and acts like someone who has taken good care of himself and who'd be able to enjoy a pleasant retirement.

Enjoy the interview viewing, and more importantly, that cocktail. Cheers!

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Before I go make a cocktail and kick off the weekend by watching that hilarious CNBC interview on the big screen, I have this thought...

What if there's nothing nefarious or sinister behind all this? What if there's nothing conspiratorial going on? Sure, this obviously wasn't planned out in advance since they have no replacements below Bob Jr. lined up and have a lot of questions still to answer.

But what if this was just Bob Iger looking at the world today, looking at himself in the mirror and the advancing birth date on his driver's license, checking out both his healthy bank account and his very attractive wife, and saying to himself... You know what? I'm done dealing with all this expletive deleted. I'm well past retirement age. I'd like to play some golf and take my wife to a private island retreat in the South Pacific for two weeks. I'm done wearing this stupid plastic nametag at media events, and I'm out of here! See ya Mouseketeers!

I would have a great deal of respect for Mr. Iger if that was all that is behind this sudden change. He certainly earned it, and he should enjoy it!

Unless something proves to me otherwise, I'm going to just go with that scenario and raise a toast to Bob Iger while I watch that CNBC interview again. I hope he enjoys his well-deserved retirement and I thank him for his service to the Walt Disney Company! Cheers Mr. Iger!

Now, someone ask the stewardess to bring Bob Jr. another air sickness bag, quick.

I realize you and others are having fun here reveling in the possibility of juicy drama taking place at the C-suite at Disney HQ, and that's fine with me, but the likelihood that this week's big news was anything substantially more than what was stated it is is pretty slim IMO.

Iger stated in 2019 that a succession plan was underway and that he would be leaving his position by the end of 2021. He and the board made good on that promise this week, easing investor fears by gently passing the baton to a trustworthy successor while maintaining some management oversight until Iger's last day. Yeah, for outsiders like us the announcement was weird, awkward, and unexpected, and thus tailor made for online chatter, but as far as real drama goes this is nothing close to the shareholder revolt that led to Eisner's embarrassing final days or the literal overthrow of Walt's son-in-law Ron Miller. Maybe it's just me TP, and I could be wrong, but I don't think there's much to see here.

Too bad we aren't neighbors. I love Disney gossip and a Friday night cocktail.

 

[TP2000]

I realize you and others are having fun here reveling in the possibility of juicy drama taking place at the C-suite at Disney HQ, and that's fine with me, but the likelihood that this week's big news was anything substantially more than what was stated it is is pretty slim IMO.

Iger stated in 2019 that a succession plan was underway and that he would be leaving his position by the end of 2021. He and the board made good on that promise this week, easing investor fears by gently passing the baton to a trustworthy successor while maintaining some management oversight until Iger's last day. Yeah, for outsiders like us the announcement was weird, awkward, and unexpected, and almost tailormade for online chatter, but as far as real drama goes this is nothing close to the shareholder revolt that led to Eisner's embarrassing final days or the literal overthrow of Walt's son-in-law Ron Miller. Maybe it's just me TP, and I could be wrong, but I don't think there's much to see here.

Too bad we aren't neighbors. I love Disney gossip and a Friday night cocktail.

Great points Hans. And I have to thank the other doctor in the house, @DrAlice, for the recommendation to rewatch that interview. It took on new meaning on a 70 inch screen, although the masterpiece of a Friday evening Whiskey Sour also helped.

A few thoughts on this crazy week after rewatching the interview and thinking for a bit...

• I could be misjudging this, but I'm sliding into the "nothing to see here" camp on this abrupt change. I don't think anything nefarious is going on, I really just think Bob Iger was ready to retire. And he deserves it.
• Although, it's still fairly obvious that Bob Iger sprung this on his team with little warning. There is no follow up succession plan for Bob Chapek's massive division. They are left scrambling a bit in Burbank.
• That said, Bob Jr. is an uninspired choice to run this hugely important American company. The man has no apparent vision aside from "Continue Doing What Bob Iger Did", and no resume or results that shows me he is a visionary. And he looked nauseous on TV.
• The interview overall was heavily scripted and stiff, with both Bob's repeating their assigned Talking Points and hitting all their Action Words on cue. It's a shame the interviewer didn't have the guts to probe more.
• I found the post-interview babble by the CNBC analysts to be mundane and borderline clueless about this major company. They seem obsessed with "DTC" or Direct To Consumer, which boils down to the Disney+ streaming service. Meanwhile, the Parks division just rolls along year after year belching up Billions in after-tax profit and they don't seem to care or notice. But mention a streaming service and they get all excited and giddy. These are the kind of people who probably invested heavily in Pet Rocks back in 1977. Idiots.

Ah well, life goes on. And my Whiskey Sour was delicious. My secret? A fresh egg white.

Have a wonderful weekend gang!

 

[No Name]

In one of the interviews Bob C. said “if the creative storytelling is right then everything else is right, no natter what distribution channel you put it in, whether you put it in the theatrical channel, whether you put it in Disney+, or whether you put it in theme parks.”

Like did he just suggest that theme parks are a medium of storytelling and not just a big gift shop for stupid people? In Bob Iger’s two division company, where theatrical releases and Disney+ fall in the main division and theme parks fall in the side division, that’s refreshing thinking. I still don’t think he’s a great choice to lead the company, but I’ve noticed in multiple interviews, he seems to understand the value of theme parks better than his former boss. Or he speaks better in that regard, at least.

This quote is certainly different than Bob Iger’s disdain for Everest aka “nondescript coaster themed to India or whatever.”

 

[TsWade2]

Look, I know you're all upset that Bob Chapek becomes a new CEO of Disney, but you guys need to watch this and prove to you all it's not the end of world:

 

[Disney Analyst]

Great points Hans. And I have to thank the other doctor in the house, @DrAlice, for the recommendation to rewatch that interview. It took on new meaning on a 70 inch screen, although the masterpiece of a Friday evening Whiskey Sour also helped.

A few thoughts on this crazy week after rewatching the interview and thinking for a bit...

• I could be misjudging this, but I'm sliding into the "nothing to see here" camp on this abrupt change. I don't think anything nefarious is going on, I really just think Bob Iger was ready to retire. And he deserves it.
• Although, it's still fairly obvious that Bob Iger sprung this on his team with little warning. There is no follow up succession plan for Bob Chapek's massive division. They are left scrambling a bit in Burbank.
• That said, Bob Jr. is an uninspired choice to run this hugely important American company. The man has no apparent vision aside from "Continue Doing What Bob Iger Did", and no resume or results that shows me he is a visionary. And he looked nauseous on TV.
• The interview overall was heavily scripted and stiff, with both Bob's repeating their assigned Talking Points and hitting all their Action Words on cue. It's a shame the interviewer didn't have the guts to probe more.
• I found the post-interview babble by the CNBC analysts to be mundane and borderline clueless about this major company. They seem obsessed with "DTC" or Direct To Consumer, which boils down to the Disney+ streaming service. Meanwhile, the Parks division just rolls along year after year belching up Billions in after-tax profit and they don't seem to care or notice. But mention a streaming service and they get all excited and giddy. These are the kind of people who probably invested heavily in Pet Rocks back in 1977. Idiots.

Ah well, life goes on. And my Whiskey Sour was delicious. My secret? A fresh egg white.

Have a wonderful weekend gang!

Honestly I’ve always thought that it was just Iger finally being like “I’m done, I’m tired, I’ve done my time”. That interview shows me an incredibly relaxed Iger.

 

[Lilofan]

Honestly I’ve always thought that it was just Iger finally being like “I’m done, I’m tired, I’ve done my time”. That interview shows me an incredibly relaxed Iger.

Yes, a relaxed Iger who does not need to deal with the day to day BS, and a frozen Chapek who just got thrown into the fire.

 

[TP2000]

Honestly I’ve always thought that it was just Iger finally being like “I’m done, I’m tired, I’ve done my time”. That interview shows me an incredibly relaxed Iger.

Bob Iger in that interview did seem relaxed, or as relaxed as a guy repeating his approved Talking Points on TV can be.

One of the other things that struck me when I watched that interview on my big TV last night was how unnatural Bob Jr. is at public speaking, much less the dynamic medium of Television. Obviously Walt was a master at that. And remember how natural and fun Michael Eisner was in the 80's and 90's when he would host the Wonderful World of Disney or appear at public events in the parks?

Bob Jr. has none of that, and I don't think they'll be able to teach him. And can you imagine how bad Bob Jr. must have been before Disney's corporate coaches helped him a bit and tried to get him to seem likable on camera?

I was also struck how in this futuristic year of 2020 that the reigns of power were passed on to a middle aged WASP man. Eisner was CEO for over 20 years, Iger was CEO for 15 years, and both were Jewish men. And now they pass the reigns back to a WASP man to run the company for the first time since 1983.

For all the talk Bob Iger had about recruiting "diversity" in his executive ranks, the demographic choice of Bob Jr. to be the next CEO makes me chuckle.

It makes me chuckle almost as much as a few months ago when Bob Iger had a schmoozy puff piece in the Sunday New York Times claiming he was promoting diversity in his executive ranks, and then on Monday they announced Bob Jr.'s second in command Katherine Powell's position was being eliminated immediately and Ms. Powell was leaving Disney "to do something else". Ouch.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Look, I know you're all upset that Bob Chapek becomes a new CEO of Disney, but you guys need to watch this and prove to you all it's not the end of world:

There's a whole lot of speculation in this fluff piece with little actual substance. In fact, the whole video felt like this dude was just trying to reassure himself that things will be okay.

I'm not gonna worry about Parks and Resorts until we know who's put in charge.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

There's a whole lot of speculation in this fluff piece with little actual substance. In fact, the whole video felt like this dude was just trying to reassure himself that things will be okay.

I'm not gonna worry about Parks and Resorts until we know who's put in charge.

Yeah...it was an "I'm not freaking out" video...nothing more.

 

[TP2000]

Speaking of maturity, I just Googled how old Bob Chapek is. He's older than I thought. He is currently 60 years old.

I had pegged him as about 52 or so. Good for him for keeping himself looking good for his age! So his reign as CEO might not be very long, even if he somehow falls into being actually good at it. But it also kind of explains his stiffness and fuddy-duddyness (not a word). A 60 year old man is a Baby Boomer. Baby Boomer men who didn't do a lot of drugs in the 60's and 70's get kind of cranky after about age 50. Baby Boomer men who did drugs in the 60's and 70's have their brains turn to mush after age 50. It's just how our generation works, especially for the men.

So the good news here is that Bob Chapek didn't do drugs in the 1970's. His stiff personality at 60 proves that.

But something tells me Bob Jr.'s CEO gig will only last a few years, maybe a year or two after Bob Iger officially leaves in 2021, and then Bob Jr. will be replaced before he's 65.

 

[Disney Irish]

Before I go make a cocktail and kick off the weekend by watching that hilarious CNBC interview on the big screen, I have this thought...

What if there's nothing nefarious or sinister behind all this? What if there's nothing conspiratorial going on? Sure, this obviously wasn't planned out in advance since they have no replacements below Bob Jr. lined up and have a lot of questions still to answer.

But what if this was just Bob Iger looking at the world today, looking at himself in the mirror and the advancing birth date on his driver's license, checking out both his healthy bank account and his very attractive wife, and saying to himself... You know what? I'm done dealing with all this expletive deleted. I'm well past retirement age. I'd like to play some golf and take my wife to a private island retreat in the South Pacific for two weeks. I'm done wearing this stupid plastic nametag at media events, and I'm out of here! See ya Mouseketeers!

I would have a great deal of respect for Mr. Iger if that was all that is behind this sudden change. He certainly earned it, and he should enjoy it!

Unless something proves to me otherwise, I'm going to just go with that scenario and raise a toast to Bob Iger while I watch that CNBC interview again. I hope he enjoys his well-deserved retirement and I thank him for his service to the Walt Disney Company! Cheers Mr. Iger!

Now, someone ask the stewardess to bring Bob Jr. another air sickness bag, quick.

I for one never thought there was some nefarious situation. This to me always seemed like the "plan" it just got executed a bit quicker than was expected.

But of course this being the internet everyone starts throwing around the tinfoil hat conspiracies. As if there has to be something nefarious behind this. But no this is just normal business as usual.

Sorry it was disappointing there was no "big" story behind this more than just Iger figured it was time.

Bob Iger in that interview did seem relaxed, or as relaxed as a guy repeating his approved Talking Points on TV can be.

One of the other things that struck me when I watched that interview on my big TV last night was how unnatural Bob Jr. is at public speaking, much less the dynamic medium of Television. Obviously Walt was a master at that. And remember how natural and fun Michael Eisner was in the 80's and 90's when he would host the Wonderful World of Disney or appear at public events in the parks?

Bob Jr. has none of that, and I don't think they'll be able to teach him. And can you imagine how bad Bob Jr. must have been before Disney's corporate coaches helped him a bit and tried to get him to seem likable on camera?

I was also struck how in this futuristic year of 2020 that the reigns of power were passed on to a middle aged WASP man. Eisner was CEO for over 20 years, Iger was CEO for 15 years, and both were Jewish men. And now they pass the reigns back to a WASP man to run the company for the first time since 1983.

For all the talk Bob Iger had about recruiting "diversity" in his executive ranks, the demographic choice of Bob Jr. to be the next CEO makes me chuckle.

It makes me chuckle almost as much as a few months ago when Bob Iger had a schmoozy puff piece in the Sunday New York Times claiming he was promoting diversity in his executive ranks, and then on Monday they announced Bob Jr.'s second in command Katherine Powell's position was being eliminated immediately and Ms. Powell was leaving Disney "to do something else". Ouch.

One thing to think about as we critique Chapek's (the man you call Bob Jr.) interview style, both Walt and Einser has the blessing of editing. Walt was known to require many takes before he got what we saw on TV, it wasn't live. Same with Eisner. If you watch a lot of Eisner's live interviews he comes off as very stiff as well. Something to think about.

 

[DrAlice]

Baby Boomer men who didn't do a lot of drugs in the 60's and 70's get kind of cranky after about age 50. Baby Boomer men who did drugs in the 60's and 70's have their brains turn to mush after age 50. It's just how our generation works, especially for the men.

Thank you for this. I'm now looking at my dad and the other men in my family in a very different light. It really explains a lot.

(Except, what does it mean if they are cranky AND mushy-brained?? haha)

 

[SuddenStorm]

Michael Eisner and Bob Iger both have incredible legacy that will be respected and studied for decades to come.

Somehow I'm having a really tough time picturing Chapek having the same kind of lasting legacy in the company. What parks will he open to match Eisner and Iger? How will he revitalize Walt Disney Animation like Eisner and Iger did?

 

[Disney Irish]

Michael Eisner and Bob Iger both have incredible legacy that will be respected and studied for decades to come.

Somehow I'm having a really tough time picturing Chapek having the same kind of lasting legacy in the company. What parks will he open to match Eisner and Iger? How will he revitalize Walt Disney Animation like Eisner and Iger did?

I have a feeling that most of the expansion of the Parks is over for now. I also have a feeling that he'll ride out his current contract to 2023, maybe renew it once, and then step down and hand it over to someone else. So maybe a 5-10 year stint as CEO, depending on how long the board gives him on the new contract. Or maybe he'll hand it over to someone else for the 100th anniversary in 2023 just as his current contract expires. Who knows.

But Iger has kind of set him up to succeed if he continues down the same path Iger setup. So as long as he doesn't veer too far away from the Iger path he'll do ok.

 

[RandySavage]

Michael Eisner and Bob Iger both have incredible legacy that will be respected and studied for decades to come.

Iger ushered in the death of THEME PARKS and THEMED RESORTS and rise of IP PARKS and BRANDED HOTELS in their stead. I guess that is worth studying in a depressing sort of way, but certainly not respected. Today, Universal and Disney, thanks to Iger, are essentially indistinguishable in the way they develop and implement attractions, lands, parks & hotels.

And they fleece you for the privelege in ways one couldn't fathom, pre-Iger.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

IP parks are still themed.

 

[Curious Constance]

For being a world class entertainment company/vacation destination that costs A LOT of money to experience, Disney still feels like you’re getting nickel and dimed at every turn like some skeezy, run down carnival.