Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy Disney's next CEO?

[ParkMan73]

I see that too, like I said I heard Speilberg raving about her business IQ too, so she might be more well rounded then we know. If they go with Staggs and rasulo though then thats worse then the white flag in my opinion. Those are complete business guys with less then 0 when it comes to creative. A strong creative person with a good business sense can still hold their own against strong business execs underneith them, because they believe in themselves enough that their business side of them knows their creative side is right. At that point a CEO can over rule people below them

I think this is where it all gets fun for us! All the what-ifs...

- Mr. Staggs is a key guy in the company. Perhaps he's just being held back by Iger and is sitting there daily saying "I'd love to sink a 5 billion into WDW and invest in the future, but Iger keeps stopping me". Or maybe he is the guy cutting back on everything good.
- Or perhaps Ms. Kennedy will have the ability to really be that strong visionary leader that pulls it all together. Or perhaps she's just overwhelmed by the magnitude that is today's Disney.
- Or maybe Ms. Snider will translate here studio experience into running a major entertainment & resort company. Or perhaps she'll focus on movies and starve the parks.

The more I think about it, I like a dark horse candidate. I'm not quite sure who though. Perhaps someone who runs a major media company (not just a studio) or perhaps a travel company - a cruise line perhaps? I think someone before mentioned Steve Burke from NBCUniversal.

 

[Sully83]

I think this is where it all gets fun for us! All the what-ifs...

- Mr. Staggs is a key guy in the company. Perhaps he's just being held back by Iger and is sitting there daily saying "I'd love to sink a 5 billion into WDW and invest in the future, but Iger keeps stopping me". Or maybe he is the guy cutting back on everything good.
- Or perhaps Ms. Kennedy will have the ability to really be that strong visionary leader that pulls it all together. Or perhaps she's just overwhelmed by the magnitude that is today's Disney.
- Or maybe Ms. Snider will translate here studio experience into running a major entertainment & resort company. Or perhaps she'll focus on movies and starve the parks.

The more I think about it, I like a dark horse candidate. I'm not quite sure who though. Perhaps someone who runs a major media company (not just a studio) or perhaps a travel company - a cruise line perhaps? I think someone before mentioned Steve Burke from NBCUniversal.

Agree, my ideal is not even a studio person and this is going to sound crazy but I am ok with that. I want someone who not only understands how to be a top level exec in a major business but has a strong understanding of how to use creative minds to the best of their abilities. The best place to find those types of people are not in LA but north in San Jose. Walt Disney company is not just a studio business, but have several types of businesses and are a major conglomerate. Having someone like Kathy running say the studios and then finding a top notch person to run the parks and continue to find the best of the best to run each division of the company. Then on top of them you hire a energetic, big thinkers, who is a savvy business person but also has tons of creativity then I think that would be a great CEO. In my opinion the best place to find that person is in Silicon Valley.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Who's Finely?

Exactly!!

 

[HMF]

I myself look for Iger's contract to be extended.

Over my dead body.

 

[HMF]

In those situations I promote Staggs back to CFO or COO.

Why? I would get rid of him entirely as well as all other Strategic Planning alumni.

 

[HMF]

- Or perhaps Ms. Kennedy will have the ability to really be that strong visionary leader that pulls it all together. Or perhaps she's just overwhelmed by the magnitude that is today's Disney.

They could always downsize. (ABC and Marvel, I am looking at you.)

 

[Darth Sidious]

Why? I would get rid of him entirely as well as all other Strategic Planning alumni.

You still need someone who is a numbers person. He answers to the CEO and deals with investors...

 

[Darth Sidious]

They could always downsize. (ABC and Marvel, I am looking at you.)

Why would you do that? Both are doing very well.

 

[HMF]

Why would you do that? Both are doing very well.

I strongly feel that they don't fit the brand and that the money and resources disney spends to operate them would be better used for the studios and parks or as they used to be called The foundation of the company.

 

[Turtle]

whoever will get the job done, and make TDO "Un-Cheap"

 

[misterID]

I strongly feel that they don't fit the brand and that the money and resources disney spends to operate them would be better used for the studios and parks or as they used to be called The foundation of the company.

ABC and Marvel ARE the brands now. They're the only ones that are really operated successfully, mostly because Disney had to agree to some extent to not mess with success, much like Pixar.

And trust me, ABC and Marvel have nothing to do whatsoever with how the parks are operated. You could even say that they would help support any new projects and investments in the park.

As far as Kathleen, she started out as an office assistant who took notes and was elevated to one of the most powerful and successful producers in the film industry based solely on her creative vision and talent.

 

[RunnerEd]

ABC and Marvel ARE the brands now. They're the only ones that are really operated successfully, mostly because Disney had to agree to some extent to not mess with success, much like Pixar.

And trust me, ABC and Marvel have nothing to do whatsoever with how the parks are operated. You could even say that they would help support any new projects and investments in the park.

As far as Kathleen, she started out as a office assistant who took notes and was elevated to one of the most powerful and successful producers in the film industry based solely on her creative vision and talent.

You left out the ESPN money printing machine. Otherwise, I agree with your post. Kathleen's story is a very inspiring one and one that I will point out to my daughters. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Darth Sidious]

I strongly feel that they don't fit the brand and that the money and resources disney spends to operate them would be better used for the studios and parks or as they used to be called The foundation of the company.

They make money, enough money that can then be used on the studios/parks. Avengers made them over $1B last year. Marvel has turned out to be a cash cow IP bank. ABC also performed well last year. Honestly, P&R may bring in the most revenue but by far the worst margins. That is where you hemorrhage money operating. I just think they all have a place in this company and selling them wouldn't make sense.

Marvel operates under its own brand, so the argument of it doesn't fit Disney in my opinion is null.

 

[PeterAlt]

When I hear Lasseter's name come up, the first thing that comes to mind is that someone doesn't understand business. Lasseter is a creative who's ascended the ladder because of his talent in creative, but not business. Can one imagine what a disaster that Disney would be in its current size if Walt ran it today? He was creative with some sense of business, but it was Roy that had the business acumen. John Lasseter is completely unqualified to run a major corporation, plain and simple. Lasseter is about producing a quality product in his genre, but with most creatives, there is generally no such thing as budget.

He deserves AT LEAST to be on the BoD!

 

[ParentsOf4]

When I hear Lasseter's name come up, the first thing that comes to mind is that someone doesn't understand business. Lasseter is a creative who's ascended the ladder because of his talent in creative, but not business. Can one imagine what a disaster that Disney would be in its current size if Walt ran it today? He was creative with some sense of business, but it was Roy that had the business acumen. John Lasseter is completely unqualified to run a major corporation, plain and simple. Lasseter is about producing a quality product in his genre, but with most creatives, there is generally no such thing as budget.

Technically, Roy was the head of the company although he clearly deferred to his younger brother on many important business decisions. Thus it was Walt who pushed for the creation of Snow White, the first full-length animated film, and it was Walt who pushed for Disneyland. Both of these were done over the objections of his older brother. It was Walt's creative drive that made the company expand. Walt blew through budgets time and again yet put together an enviable track record of financial successes, particularly impressive given the number of risks he was willing to take. Both Walt's and Roy's talents were scalable and as a pair, IMHO, could successfully run today's TWDC with potentially explosive growth.

Any CEO can read ROI forecasts. Bob Iger is a successful bureaucrat but lacks vision. Iger is today's Roy Disney but he needs a Walt. There's nothing in Iger's talents that are particular to TWDC. Iger could be CEO at any Fortune 500 company and perform about the same.

Lassiter is highly intelligent and more than capable of making executive decisions based on forecasts if he so desires, just like Iger. Beyond that, it takes a creative genius to grow a company in new directions. Lassiter has that; Iger does not.

 

[flFigment]

Technically, Roy was the head of the company although he clearly deferred to his younger brother on many important business decisions. Thus it was Walt who pushed for the creation of Snow White, the first full-length animated film, and it was Walt who pushed for Disneyland. Both of these were done over the objections of his older brother. It was Walt's creative drive that made the company expand. Walt blew through budgets time and again yet put together an enviable track record of financial successes, particularly impressive given the number of risks he was willing to take. Both Walt's and Roy's talents were scalable and as a pair, IMHO, could successfully run today's TWDC with potentially explosive growth.

Any CEO can read ROI forecasts. Bob Iger is a successful bureaucrat but lacks vision. Iger is today's Roy Disney but he needs a Walt. There's nothing in Iger's talents that are particular to TWDC. Iger could be CEO at any Fortune 500 company and perform about the same.

Lassiter is highly intelligent and more than capable of making executive decisions based on forecasts if he so desires, just like Iger. Beyond that, it takes a creative genius to grow a company in new directions. Lassiter has that; Iger does not.

Thank you!!

Someone here gets it. I personally believe that with what kind of company that Disney is that there can not be just a single person at the helm. Disney needs to pull a page from their own teachings and step outside the box and do it better than anybody. Do something new and unexpected yet better than everyone else. Have two people that run the company.

Disney needs to have a creative director and a financial director in two different people. Walt and Roy did this when the company was starting and it seems as if people have forgot that this was done for a reason.

One said I want to do this and one said you financially cant do that. Then the other would say this is what it is going to be and do and you have to convince the bankers to finance it. Get rid of the MBA mentality and put back in place what made the company money. Creativity, drive, devotion to quality, and make a product that is better than anyone else. You know bring back the Disney difference and the Disney quality and not just worry about your direct ROI on everything. Not everything can be measured in a direct ROI nor should it.

I can think of more people I don't want at the helm than anything. If Meg Crofton gets promoted again I will seriously vomit. I don't know why she hasn't been fired years ago. Same goes for kevin lansbury.

Lassitter is not a bad choice for one of them but not the sole person. I would have to think who would be the best combination of people to run Disney for my vote as a stockholder.

 

[alphac2005]

Technically, Roy was the head of the company although he clearly deferred to his younger brother on many important business decisions. Thus it was Walt who pushed for the creation of Snow White, the first full-length animated film, and it was Walt who pushed for Disneyland. Both of these were done over the objections of his older brother. It was Walt's creative drive that made the company expand. Walt blew through budgets time and again yet put together an enviable track record of financial successes, particularly impressive given the number of risks he was willing to take. Both Walt's and Roy's talents were scalable and as a pair, IMHO, could successfully run today's TWDC with potentially explosive growth.

Any CEO can read ROI forecasts. Bob Iger is a successful bureaucrat but lacks vision. Iger is today's Roy Disney but he needs a Walt. There's nothing in Iger's talents that are particular to TWDC. Iger could be CEO at any Fortune 500 company and perform about the same.

Lassiter is highly intelligent and more than capable of making executive decisions based on forecasts if he so desires, just like Iger. Beyond that, it takes a creative genius to grow a company in new directions. Lassiter has that; Iger does not.

As you know, I greatly enjoy your posts. The problem that we have in today's climate is that no one with a creative bent, but with some business acumen is going to cut it. It's the sad reality with a corporation of Disney's size and I know that we're talking about it on other threads today. As much as I greatly admire and virtually idolized Walt Disney as a child, the size of that Walt Disney company is peanuts compared to today. Many of these giants are akin to the banks, simply too big. Even if you go from the Eisner/Wells era, the company is so much more diverse, so much larger with their toes dipped in many more outlets.

Look at so many of the major corporations in this country, they all lead in the same direction, the Iger CEO mold. There are some anomalies, but by and large, it's a bureaucrat, as you noted, that can bring the fastest returns to those who are significantly invested in that company for the near-term gain. So, if we take at face value the brilliance of creative with John Lassiter, what's the likelihood of someone of that stature running this company or something akin to it? Virtually nothing now. The notion of two individuals (and playing to their individual strengths) running a company (e.g. Walt/Roy, Eisner/Wells) has been thrown out the window all over corporate America today. The irony is that these corporations are so huge now that they more than ever need more than one person at the top of the food chain.

I think our financial industry and in-turn business community are simply poisoned. When it'll change, well that's the question and the cynic in me sees it further eroding. Simply put, it's depressing.

 

[ParkMan73]

Thank you!!

Someone here gets it. I personally believe that with what kind of company that Disney is that there can not be just a single person at the helm. Disney needs to pull a page from their own teachings and step outside the box and do it better than anybody. Do something new and unexpected yet better than everyone else. Have two people that run the company.

Disney needs to have a creative director and a financial director in two different people. Walt and Roy did this when the company was starting and it seems as if people have forgot that this was done for a reason.

One said I want to do this and one said you financially cant do that. Then the other would say this is what it is going to be and do and you have to convince the bankers to finance it. Get rid of the MBA mentality and put back in place what made the company money. Creativity, drive, devotion to quality, and make a product that is better than anyone else. You know bring back the Disney difference and the Disney quality and not just worry about your direct ROI on everything. Not everything can be measured in a direct ROI nor should it.

I can think of more people I don't want at the helm than anything. If Meg Crofton gets promoted again I will seriously vomit. I don't know why she hasn't been fired years ago. Same goes for kevin lansbury.

Lassitter is not a bad choice for one of them but not the sole person. I would have to think who would be the best combination of people to run Disney for my vote as a stockholder.

I share your vision - I do. Let's move towards quality and long term value from Disney, not just focus on maximizing short term revenue.

In large part, it's shareholders and the Board of Directors who get my blame. They hire the CEO, they give him/her the mandate to make the shareholders as much money as possible. Were Disney a private company, the CEO/owner could not worry about making money, they could instead focus on creativity, drive, and quality. But it's not a private company.

Where a good CEO does wonders if when he/she can make money & build quality. Put differently - it's easy to spend money on quality when money is flush. However, what happens when your blockbuster movie tanks or your expansion you thought would rake in money doesn't. You have to make decisions about where to cut. Every once in a while, a truly great CEO comes along and can transcend all this. Through quality and his/her product he paints a grand vision and transcends the normal measures. Steve Jobs can perhaps be thought of in this vein.

This is why I don't think it's as simple as just taking some great creative exec and handing them the Keys to the Kingdom. How do they push back when the BOD and major shareholders demand results? I fear that unless you have a really strong CEO, you end up with someone who gets pushed around or worse yet, manipulated. When that happens, I think we're worse off than we are now.

 

[WDW95]

I would be great if the Walt Disney Company got a CEO like Eisner again (with Wells). Similar to Walt and Roy too. The reason Eisner originally was brought on was because Disney had been on a downward spiral essentially after Walt died. By the 1980s many of their films were vastly inferior to the ones the company used to make. Epcot's construction cost the company a lot of money and it was hard to pay off the loans. They were even considering selling off the hotels to get more cash. At this time they needed a major change in order to survive.

With Eisner's introduction to the company we have seen the WDC begin its foundation for the modern company we all love today. Under his reign they began producing blockbuster hits and movies that define a generation and are classics that were as good as the films made during Walt's time. He sought out massive, ambitious construction projects. E-tickets such as Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Adventure and other technologically advanced attractions. Euro Disney was to be the best resort in terms of aesthetics. They were really trying to push the envelope. They were really innovative and something not done before. He renewed interest in Disney again.

However toward the end of his reign he lost some of the mojo and ambition from the early days at the company and the company played it more on the safe side in regards to parks and movies. Today it seems like all Disney wants to do is acquire new properties. How many acquisitions have occurred under Iger's power? While recent films such as Tangled, Wreck it Ralph, and Princess and the Frog are better than what was produced in the early 2000s, lets see something that could top those films from the 90s. Cars Land, New Fantasyland and Buena Vista street are beautiful but where are the trackless vehicles, massive E-tickets coming to the parks frequently, and new technologies in regards to the parks? In addition there has not been as much innovation in the company as there was in the late 80s/early 90s.

I just hope that the new CEO is one that could produce a great product while in power and can really innovate as Disney does best, rather than just replicate what they did in the past and acquire other products.

Like Walt, who was always innovating (first in cartoons, then animated films, then theme parks, then audio animatronics, and finally EPCOT-city), we need a CEO who can look towards the next thing and be original while pleasing the customers.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Can I be CEO?