News Chapek FIRED, Iger New CEO

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Hot rumor - All the gold that was planned to be used at MK for its 50th was instead diverted to Chapek’s parachute.

…winner

 

[FantasiaMickey2000]

Y’all gettin sloppy feeling sorry for Cheapak.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not losing any sleep or shedding any tears for Chapek. But I think it’s safe to say that for these mega corp CEOs that live to work, their career and ego are frequently the most important things in their lives. To finally get your big promotion that you have worked decades for only for the exact guy who promoted you to constantly be signaling that he has limited faith in you and holding you back has to be extremely upsetting and stressful on a human level. I think it’s fine to feel a little sorry for another human being in that situation despite how rich they are.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Haha in all honesty, if Eisner wasn’t a complete jerk I wonder how much longer he would have lasted. I think he would have accomplished just about as much as Iger creatively. His feud with Steve Jobs sunk Disney’s no-brainer partnership with Pixar. His feud with Katzenberg led to the creation of one of Disney’s few animation rivals in Dreamworks. If you imagine a world where Disney and Pixar are still together and Dreamworks doesn’t exist then I find it probable that Eisner is never ousted.

Iger’s most famous and successful moves as CEO are acquiring Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Fox. Without those fractured relationships, I think Disney would have acquired Pixar anyway as it was always a match made in heaven. Disney already had a relationship with Lucasfilm under Eisner so I see no reason as to why George Lucas wouldn’t have sold to Disney under Eisner too. Fox going up for sale was a two company race between Disney and Comcast and without Dreamworks I definitely don’t see Comcast coming out on top in that timeline either.

I guess I’ve always thought Disney would be just as successful today if Eisner was CEO the past 15 years instead of Iger if he has just not been such a egotistical jerk. Goes to show you can be your own worst enemy.

Eisner had to go…but there is little doubt he fared better in his time and place than a stiff like Iger would have…

…on the flip side…Iger prospered in a stock dictated, lack of innovative thinking/creativity period that required more exploitation and little development that undoubtedly would have caused Eisner to self imolate.

they may have been right/adaptive to their times. That’s high praise.

this current idiot is unqualified. He’s right for no time and place.
A “products” guy can’t control a media company. Period.

 

[Kamikaze]

Ahhh…but Iger sucked up to Roy and played the middle against the ends of the field

chapek is there…with ZERO qualifications to be a media conglomerate CEO…because Iger made zero effort to find anyone better. Which was all well and fine until he got scared during the early plague and resigned like a coward.

the only reason he’s still snooping around is Because the economy didn’t melt down. His legacy looks bad because he left a rube behind and there’s still money to be made. You’d hear nothing from spray tan Bob if we were in a 2010 or 2002 style recession. Egg on his face due to egghead.

I’m doing that “super honest” thing today.

As it alludes to in this new piece, Chapek had a hand in making sure no one else was considered.

And Iger did have the pull and connections (and friendships) to do things like launch Hamilton early. Chapek has none of those. Disney+'s 2020 schedule would have been horrific without Iger taking the reigns on that stuff.

Its very possible Chapek doesn't get renewed in Feb 23.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Nobody named “Bob” isn’t deserving of the heat right now. They both are beneficiaries of their circumstances and victims of their mistakes.

Thoughts on smiley Josh? I really don’t think he’s the saviour everyone thinks he is.

 

[Lilofan]

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not losing any sleep or shedding any tears for Chapek. But I think it’s safe to say that for these mega corp CEOs that live to work, their career and ego are frequently the most important things in their lives. To finally get your big promotion that you have worked decades for only for the exact guy who promoted you to constantly be signaling that he has limited faith in you and holding you back has to be extremely upsetting and stressful on a human level. I think it’s fine to feel a little sorry for another human being in that situation despite how rich they are.

Iger recommended Chapek for the top job. The Disney Board had to approve.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Thoughts on smiley Josh? I really don’t think he’s the saviour everyone thinks he is.

He’s the golden calf from the Ten Commandments…

a “false god”…is my impression

(my impressions tend to be annoyingly correct on these types of things)

Iger recommended Chapek for the top job. The Disney Board had to approve.

Kinda puts the flaming pile of dog poo on his own front porch then…doesn’t it?

 

[el_super]

One thing is obvious, that Chapek is not the creative type. Anyone who follows Disney knows that. None of this is surprising to say the least. It’s all about the bottom line.

Did you read the article? What do you think of this:

Marvel boss Kevin Feige won’t address the Johansson litigation, but, while he is not known for discussing Disney internal politics, he says the still-new CEO is being underestimated. “I think he is a creative guy, a nice guy, a real guy,” Feige says, adding that Chapek offers “just enough of an opinion to give good feedback” on early cuts of movies and shows.​

I mean, to be fair, Chapek probably shouldn't be leading the company. He might be a fine businessman, but nothing in his background leads me to believe he's suited for the CEO job of an entertainment company. With that said, I too sense that he's being undermined and feel for him.

Undermined isn't the right word I think. I will admit that I still have reservations about Chapek's overall ability to perform the role, but not because I feel he is not creative enough or not smart enough. The primary objection comes from the lack of Hollywood contacts and the ability to network the way Iger was able to. Hollywood is, for better or worse, still being run through a lot of backroom deals and parties at Malibu beach houses.

Which is why traditionally, Wall Street was against the idea of a parks-grown candidate taking the reigns. They wanted someone with the Hollywood experience and would have preferred bringing in someone from the outside to do it.

So I don't think Chapek is being actively undermined, just not, as they say, setup for success.

This article is fairly interesting though because it seems to address some of the biggest problems that I have had with Chapek, not really feeling polished or feeling like CEO material. He doesn't display the comfort in the suit that Iger and Eisner both had, and it seems to show a lack of confidence. I don't know the guy, but I actually am interested in the idea of him being an Anti-CEO. Someone who gets the business and actually understands it, but doesn't feel comfortable with the facade.

The jury is still out on whether he really knows the business or not, since the pandemic is putting a big asterisk next to his record card.

Chapek was announced as CEO suddenly in February after SDL was already closed due to Covid-19 in January. We were pretending here it wouldn't be a thing, but the Bobs were well aware. It seemed like an opportunity play at the time with no downside to Iger

Unless Iger is out there actively telling contacts not to work with Chapek, I don't really see how he could be undermined. I think, true to the article, there was a bit of hubris on Iger's part in thinking that he could bail before the pandemic really took hold and leave Bob with playing the bad cop on renegotiating deals with talent for Disney+. If Iger's greatest strength was his networking contacts, seems obviously he wouldn't have risked that for Disney+.

 

[el_super]

Thoughts on smiley Josh? I really don’t think he’s the saviour everyone thinks he is.

That's because people honestly thought that visiting the park, meeting with fans and convincing them you cared were signs that you were a good parks leader.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

As it alludes to in this new piece, Chapek had a hand in making sure no one else was considered.

And Iger did have the pull and connections (and friendships) to do things like launch Hamilton early. Chapek has none of those. Disney+'s 2020 schedule would have been horrific without Iger taking the reigns on that stuff.

Its very possible Chapek doesn't get renewed in Feb 23.

I don’t think it’s there yet…but a withhold of shareholder vote is highly advisable.

it’s in the best interests of the shareholders of the Walt Disney Company

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Hey, Supe…I think you got the wrong guy.

 

[WDWTrojan]

That's because people honestly thought that visiting the park, meeting with fans and convincing them you cared were signs that you were a good parks leader.

Most of his love comes from the fact he was the first parks exec to hire someone to manage his social channels in his voice, so he looked genuine and "down to earth."

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

…I know a pressler when I smell one

 

[Tha Realest]

I feel like Iger's recent emphasis on his role as a "creator" type is an effort to burnish his legacy to put him on equal footing with Jobs and Walt himself. Iger's "creative" legacy involved creatively using the books to make huge acquisitions of existing, externally-created IP. You could argue in-house creativity at Disney (or Disney acquired properties, like latter day Pixar, the Muppets, etc) has languished or flatlined.

 

[comics101]

Undermined isn't the right word I think. I will admit that I still have reservations about Chapek's overall ability to perform the role, but not because I feel he is not creative enough or not smart enough. The primary objection comes from the lack of Hollywood contacts and the ability to network the way Iger was able to. Hollywood is, for better or worse, still being run through a lot of backroom deals and parties at Malibu beach houses.

Which is why traditionally, Wall Street was against the idea of a parks-grown candidate taking the reigns. They wanted someone with the Hollywood experience and would have preferred bringing in someone from the outside to do it.

So I don't think Chapek is being actively undermined, just not, as they say, setup for success.

This article is fairly interesting though because it seems to address some of the biggest problems that I have had with Chapek, not really feeling polished or feeling like CEO material. He doesn't display the comfort in the suit that Iger and Eisner both had, and it seems to show a lack of confidence. I don't know the guy, but I actually am interested in the idea of him being an Anti-CEO. Someone who gets the business and actually understands it, but doesn't feel comfortable with the facade.

The jury is still out on whether he really knows the business or not, since the pandemic is putting a big asterisk next to his record card.

All of this seems very fair, and I really like the way you framed it.

 

[el_super]

Most of his love comes from the fact he was the first parks exec to hire someone to manage his social channels in his voice, so he looked genuine and "down to earth."

I know this isn't some big revelation, but tying it back to the article, it seems strange how much value we put on whether someone is qualified for a job or not, based on their outward appearance. People thought Josh seemed like a good guy, so he would make a good parks leader. People saw that Chapek had the poise of a super villain, and have assumed the worst. This whole Hollywood reporter article was focused on Chapek's interpersonal dealings with the people around him, and how he comes off to others, and not at all about the actual business results.

It's a little weird.

 

[Ayla]

My reading of the article makes me feel bad for Chapek. It reads to me like Iger never wanted him to take over and expected to be begged out of his retirement. When he wasn’t, he couldn’t let go of the company and still wanted to dominate. Chapek is in a position where no one respects him because it appears Iger doesn’t think he can lead the company and is actively undermining him with his continued heavy involvement. That leads to him having to make over reactive choices in order to try and make it clear who is in charge now. Just my two cents.

I feel zero sympathy for Chapek. The person I felt sorry for after reading that was Staggs. He got royally screwed by Chapek.

 

[Tha Realest]

The primary objection comes from the lack of Hollywood contacts and the ability to network the way Iger was able to. Hollywood is, for better or worse, still being run through a lot of backroom deals and parties at Malibu beach houses.

I just finished reading Disney War, and those skills were held by none other than Michael Ovitz. And we see how that turned out (though, admittedly, he was undercut at each step by Eisner himself)

 

[FantasiaMickey2000]

Iger recommended Chapek for the top job. The Disney Board had to approve.

After Iger being at the helm for 15 years, leaving on his own accord, and choosing to stay heavily involved in the company upon recommending Chapek, I think the board’s approval was a rubber stamp at that point. Will it be going forward with Iger’s requests? Probably not, but I certainly think it was at the time.

 

[WDWTrojan]

I know this isn't some big revelation, but tying it back to the article, it seems strange how much value we put on whether someone is qualified for a job or not, based on their outward appearance. People thought Josh seemed like a good guy, so he would make a good parks leader. People saw that Chapek had the poise of a super villain, and have assumed the worst. This whole Hollywood reporter article was focused on Chapek's interpersonal dealings with the people around him, and how he comes off to others, and not at all about the actual business results.

It's a little weird.

I don't really think that anybody had any opinions on Chapek until he insisted on shoving cartoon characters everywhere they don't belong and budget cutting everything.