Bob Iger Returns To Disney As CEO Replacing Bob Chapek

After Disney announced the dismissal of Bob Chapek as CEO, the door opened for Bob Iger to return to the position he held for 15 years.

Many entertainment companies suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney is no exception; its latest financial reports show the company lost nearly $1.5 billion, and its shares hit a 20-year low. So, to escape these issues, they are making radical changes.

Image via Thomas Hawk on Flickr

The board hopes to regain investors’ confidence by bringing Bob Iger back. Two years of the pandemic, theme park closures, and several restrictions have affected their profits. Additionally, there were controversies involving former CEO Bob Chapek, which did not help to improve the outlook. Perhaps with these new strategies, the company can consolidate its goals.

Bob Iger Returns to Disney’s Management

Many people are happy with this recent change in Disney’s entertainment company. Bob Iger returns to Disney’s board following Bob Chapek’s recent departure from the CEO position.

After just two years on the board, Chapek was involved in many internal and external controversies. During the pandemic, production shutdowns and theme park closures caused problems. Also, during this period, the CEO remained silent against a Florida bill that severely limited classroom discussion of topics such as gender identity and sexual orientation.

Image via Walt Disney Television on Flickr

Similarly, he waged a battle with Scarlett Johanson for his unilateral decision to release Black Widow simultaneously on the Internet and in theaters. After a few months, they agreed on the compensation to be paid.

Chapek assumed his position as CEO in February 2020, with Iger staying on as a transition period until 2021 at Disney. Disney renewed Chapek’s contract in June of this year, but they decided to remove him from the workforce despite this.

Disney’s losses in terms of its stock range from 40% this year alone and a 7% drop in the Dow Jones index. The numbers are unfavorable for the company, especially with a recent report of heavy losses in the streaming business unit, including Disney+. So with this change, Disney should recover by the next fiscal year, 2024. Hopefully, Bob Iger can return to make this happen, as his track record demonstrates his capability.

Bob Iger’s Impact on Disney

Bob Iger served as CEO for over 15 years at Disney and brought a lot to the entertainment company during his tenure. His numbers were high, and he led a pitched battle against rival Netflix, leaving Disney in an excellent position. Iger’s key acquisitions were Marvel Entertainment, Pixar Animation Studios, and 21st Century Fox. Iger managed to capitalize on the company’s stock market index by more than five times.

In his book The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company, Iger highlights ten basic principles. These are courage, optimism, decisiveness, focus, fairness, curiosity, authenticity, thoughtfulness, integrity, and the relentless pursuit of perfection.

Image via Amazon

Thanks to the leadership shown, Iger was and will continue to, drive ambitious, large-scale projects that will create change and positively impact the company.

The outlook, however,  is not easy for Iger. He is facing scenarios with price increases linked to reduced service levels, new policies, and the elimination of some free benefits. So, ahead of his return, Bob Iger has to surf several pitfalls and the investors’ and subscribers’ discontent since they have to pay more for less due to the pandemic.

Therefore, Disney expects Bob Iger to create new strategies in this second term to reposition them. Hopefully, he will recover from the lost time and make Disney recover from this bad streak.