Staggs resigns

[BrerJon]

Bye Tom, you won't be missed, thanks for screwing up the parks for us!

This is interesting news, but as always be careful what you wish for. I suspect Chapek is for sure nowhere near qualified to run a vast media company, so I don't think we need to worry about a big promotion for him any time soon, but I doubt parks is important enough to the bottom line to make it likely we'd get a parks person in charge either.

Because there's no other company like it, with fingers in so many pies, finding a good candidate is an unusually tough job.

I think I'm going to put my chips on Sandberg. She's been at Facebook a while so may well be ready to move on by 2018, is already on the Disney board and would be a very friendly public face - a female CEO is long overdue too. She has the business chops, the tech chops, and Facebook is pretty much a media company these days. I could see fans, shareholders and the public welcoming her with open arms.

 

[hopemax]

I don't feel comfortable in answering that question. ... Let's simply say that everyone has their cliques and the Disney BoD is no different.

You're no fun. With the Save Disney campaign it was obvious Roy E and Stanley Gold on one side, and their no confidence vote for Judith Estrin and John Bryson clearly identified Eisner's supporters. Whatever is happening within the Boardroom now is going to play out mostly behind closed doors unlike last time.

I did look up who was around from the Save Disney timeline. Robert Matschullat is the longest serving board member, appointed in 2002 (although according to DisneyWar as a newly elected member he tried to abstain from the battle). With Aylwin Lewis and John Chen being elected in 2004 to replace Roy E and Stanley Gold when they resigned. So those are the three that would have been there during all the hoopla. Fred Langhammer was added to the board 2 months before Iger was elevated to CEO.

What is interesting is how little (none?) traditional media company representation is on the board. You've got your financial people, your new tech/media types like Sheryl Sanders and Jack Dorsey, and there is quite a lot of Consumer Product type people.

My worries are, if this is primarily about Shanghai, that whatever the future will hold, the decision will be basically, "Disney needs better business people." Which is true, but all that we talk about how if Disney continues on this current path, they risk their identity of being regarded as a premium product in terms of guest service and the guest experience isn't a concern. If trying to improve China relations means Disney becomes even more committed to selling cheap, Chinese-manufactured crap, with the theme parks becoming the new vehicle of choice, many of us aren't going to be too happen to witness the destruction of even more Classic Disney. If the Board thinks this P.T. Barnum stuff from WDW this quarter, is perfectly fine, aren't aware or concerned about domestic park operations, quality of their work force etc, and the big issues needing solving are "WDI costs too much," "there isn't enough modern Disney branded IPs in the theme parks," and "needing someone who knows how to talk to the Chinese," we're still not going to get anywhere.

Going back to Save Disney, at least we knew Roy E and Stanley were committed to the idea that old Disney was still a viable business plan.

 

[Goofyernmost]

This isnt about love. Its about business.

And about how Disney is spending CapEx at its lowest levels since god knows when....

Wait a second there... Dave are you saying that Disney is a Business. How rude!

 

[PhotoDave219]

Wait a second there... Dave are you saying that Disney is a Business. How rude!

Bwahahahaha.....

It's completely possible to be a business and not be douchey about how you run it....

 

[No Name]

A name not referenced around this place enough is ... Isaac Perlmutter.

When Disney got Marvel, it got Ike too.

The Marvel purchase made Perlmutter one of the largest single shareholders of the Walt Disney Company.

And being the largest shareholder comes with great power and sway - with the board and over Iger (it's like Sid Bass' control over Eisner all over again).

Who has Isaac Perlmutter not liked in the Disney executive suite for years? Tom Staggs.

Rumours continually persisted Ike did not respect Staggs creative sensibilities or decisions.

In short Disney history - Perlmutter got former Consumer Products head Andy Mooney booted because he didn't like the way Marvel characters were sold, so he got someone he liked put into head that division - Bob Chapek. Then when Staggs moved to COO and Chapek took his place at Parks, Staggs put Leslie Ferraro in Consumer Products. Guess what happened there? Perlmutter did not like Staggs choice in Ferraro either - and poof - 9 months into her new role she was already gone.

Perlmutter likely strongly signalled - as Disney's largest shareholder and an activist one at that - there was no way he was supporting Staggs for the top job. And Disney's board (representing shareholders!) got the message too - Staggs was clearly out. Staggs got the message.

Iger put Staggs in the COO post so he could prove he was a worthy heir. But it actually proved the opposite - it was never meant to be.

Sounds pretty right, though I don't know much about that Perlmutter guy. I don't think he loves Iger either. They had that whole slot machine debacle, and I side with Iger (I know, don't kill me) on that one.

I did some research, and from his history in other companies, he seems like the exact kind of guy who'd stir up trouble and get people out of spots he doesn't like them in. If he liked Chappie though, well then, I don't know. And he looks like a typical businessman, doesn't look all that nice. Doesn't look like he gives warm hugs. So I agree that he has a big say in things, and though you weren't implying it, I don't want him to be the next leader.

I suspect that GotG ToT would be all but certain if he became CEO.

 

[ParentsOf4]

My father used to deal with those types and the golden parachutes that he was in charge of administrating were deplorable. Whether it was a forced out executive, a temper tantrum still having to wait as you've noted, or merger, the prevailing theme was that it was never enough even though the packages were for many people's lifetime of wages just to hit the exit door and never look back. The stories I was always told were unreal and plays right into the current gross wage imbalance.

Yo Staggs, stop your crying and do what others do to get promoted.

Earn it!

 

[TsWade2]

I don't have any hate or like Tom Staggs, but just for fun, I'll post this to entertain you all. Hit it, Steam!

 

[seascape]

The person who gets the job is going to have a hard time. Disney will come close to if not break 3 billion in North America this year at the box office. Go look at a toy store, Disney had over half the space. Theme parks are packed. What should be done? Massive expansion of WDW is a start but more hotel rooms and DVC units at a more reasonable cost is needed and then restore Epcot and stage 3 and 4 of the studios and another section of AK. P&R is the area that can grow. Movies are just about as profitable as possible. TV is also at the top and toy sales can't go much higher. The next CEO had a hard job.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Here I am watching the special features with Episode 7 (thanks Disney for getting it to me the day before release date - even Amazon didn't do that), take a break to see what's happening on WDWMagic and I spot THIS!

I'm gobsmacked....... And elated. Let's hope the BOD chooses his successor VERY carefully. And by that, I mean looking to the future after June 2018.....

Just a bit jealous! Tomorrow night can't get here fast enough.

My wife has a board meeting tomorrow evening so I can crank up the volume and enjoy.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Brooksie rewrote his Staggs article for the Tuesday print edition
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/business/media/thomas-staggs-walt-disney-company.html
Notable Changes

After the promotion, as Mr. Staggs came under intense scrutiny by Disney’s board, it became clear that at least some board members were not convinced he had the skills required to maintain Disney’s creative momentum. While Mr. Staggs has extensive financial experience, his résumé is light when it comes to the successful creation of movies and television shows. (For his part, Mr. Iger ran ABC early in his career.)

An early personnel misstep did not help Mr. Staggs. He pushed for a theme park marketing executive, Leslie Ferraro, to become Disney’s merchandising chairwoman. Ms. Ferraro proved a poor fit and left Disney in February. Mr. Staggs also lacked the support of some Disney shareholders, including Isaac Perlmutter, the strong-willed chief executive of Marvel Entertainment. Mr. Staggs’s exit was first reported by The New York Times.

Over the last year, Mr. Staggs devoted a substantial amount of his time to Disney Media Networks, a division that includes ESPN, ABC and Disney Channel.

The end of the road for Ms. Staggs, who has many supporters at Disney, comes as the company prepares to unveil the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort, a project of crucial importance that Mr. Staggs helped guide as theme park chairman. (His signature, along with Mr. Iger’s, is quite literally on the Shanghai park: The two men signed a castle spire as it was put into place last year.) Despite some rumblings to the contrary, Disney has insisted that the park, set to open in June, has faced no unusual setbacks.

 

[TalkingHead]

And to think Tom Staggs was all that stood between us and coloring with Sleeping Beauty in New Fantasyland.

My, how the mighty have fallen.

(But seriously, remember when some fans championed him for "fixing" the too-girly NFL...)

 

[HarrisburgMouse]

WSJ underscores Spirit's points about the Board deciding not to move forward with Staggs --- http://www.wsj.com/articles/disneys-operating-chief-to-leave-company-1459803486

What's interesting is how public these deliberations are getting....and how his negative review is getting out. I trust no one missed one of the biggest points the Spirit implied - Iger had to personally decide to throw Staggs off the island.

Also makes the ending of the WSJ article about how close Staggs and Iger are as friends pretty amusing.

 

[GoofGoof]

The person who gets the job is going to have a hard time. Disney will come close to if not break 3 billion in North America this year at the box office. Go look at a toy store, Disney had over half the space. Theme parks are packed. What should be done? Massive expansion of WDW is a start but more hotel rooms and DVC units at a more reasonable cost is needed and then restore Epcot and stage 3 and 4 of the studios and another section of AK. P&R is the area that can grow. Movies are just about as profitable as possible. TV is also at the top and toy sales can't go much higher. The next CEO had a hard job.

The $40 or $50 million a year they pull in should help them cope with the job being hard

 

[BubbaQuest]

...Then, six months from now the bombshell drops that Disney is purchasing -------- (the billion dollar question is who???) and the CEO is named as Disney COO and Iger's successor. He/she has 18-24 months to learn the company and Iger walks off into the sunset....

Hmmm, very interesting. I keep getting stuck on why Staggs would suddenly get so frustrated to walk out the door now. A large acquisition with an incoming CEO could answer that. Or maybe talks of splitting the company again, with Staggs being stuck as CEO of parks instead of CEO of everything?

EDIT: The WSJ article makes it sound like neither of these are possibilities. Has a potential CEO ever been thrown this fast under the bus before???

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Hmmm, very interesting. I keep getting stuck on why Staggs would suddenly get so frustrated to walk out the door now. A large acquisition with an incoming CEO could answer that. Or maybe talks of splitting the company again, with Staggs being stuck as CEO of parks instead of CEO of everything?

EDIT: The WSJ article makes it sound like neither of these are possibilities. Has a potential CEO ever been thrown this fast under the bus before???

Staggs was never a potential CEO. Iger knew it, everyone internally knew it.

 

[jt04]

And to think Tom Staggs was all that stood between us and coloring with Sleeping Beauty in New Fantasyland.

..)

Um, excuse me, I'm standing right here, I can hear you.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

Although highly far-fetched, I would like to believe Tom was fired for those awful quotes posted on the Disney Parks Blog, which justified the addition of Frozen to the Norway Pavilion in Epcot.

 

[matt9112]

I don't understand why so many of you dog on Iger. Is it because he's pricing you out? Or because you just want to live in the Horizons era the rest of your life?

I mean come on... the guy brought us Star Wars and Marvel. Bringing in those two things alone makes him worth his weight as a good CEO for me. The parks have record attendance AND profit (which is great as a shareholder). We've got Disney Springs expansion, Toy Story Land, Avatar, Star Wars Land and more... record profits and attendance on Frozen, Zootopia, Inside Out, etc.

Are there things that should be improved? Sure. But bad CEO? No way. I hope he gets an extension. I'm very happy with Disney as the moment and am excited about everything new being brought in.

I think Staggs got the ax (or got pushed out) because of his big over-budget and often-late projects. Think New Fantasyland, MM+, Avatar, and Shanghai. It's not that the ideas were bad, it's more that the planning was always way off.

Your post has made us all stupider having to read it. At no point where you even......do I need to go on?

Lots of company's have record profits but that just means there's lots of stupid/ uneducated people. Do you get gold stars if you steal lunch money from a special needs child?

 

[matt9112]

Keeping it classy I see...

Kid sounds like a D bag...has no mental bearing on what could have been.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

One last note about the piece in the Times, the final version of the story buried and softened the Shanghai Disney concerns.
Before: Paragraph 1

LOS ANGELES — Thomas O. Staggs, the favored contender to lead Disney after Robert A. Iger’s retirement, is making a surprise exit from the company, throwing succession into disorder. His departure will also be an internal distraction as Disney prepares to unveil Shanghai Disneyland, a crucial project that Mr. Staggs had helped guide.

After: 3rd to Last Paragraph

The end of the road for Ms. Staggs, who has many supporters at Disney, comes as the company prepares to unveil the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort, a project of crucial importance that Mr. Staggs helped guide as theme park chairman. (His signature, along with Mr. Iger’s, is quite literally on the Shanghai park: The two men signed a castle spire as it was put into place last year.) Despite some rumblings to the contrary, Disney has insisted that the park, set to open in June, has faced no unusual setbacks.