It was announced on Feb. 25 that Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger would be stepping down from his position and be replaced by Bob Chapek, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Iger will still be working for the company as an executive chairman of the Walt Disney Company as well as the Chairmen of the Board of Directors until his eventual leave from the company on Dec. 21, 2020.
After the announcement that he was stepping down, Iger stated, “With the Successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of 21st Century Fox well underway, I believe this is an optimal time to transition to a new CEO.”
He’s the seventh CEO of the Walt Disney Company, replacing Michael Eisner for the position, and since then has been with Disney and helped it thrive for better or worse.
He became CEO in March 18, 2005 but before then he was working for ABC in 1972, working his way to the top of the corporation and became president for ABC’s parent company Capital Cities in 1994.
He remained president until 1999, moving to Disney where The Walt Disney Company promoted him to work in Walt Disney International and in 2000 was promoted to CEO of the company.
Since his time in Disney, Iger has done many great things for the company with the first being the acquisition of Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion as well as buying the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
In 2008, he bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Marvel’s films have been making back that money and more, becoming number one in highest-grossing franchise of all time, making $8 billion in all of its films and having the the top grossing-movie of all time with Avengers Endgame last year.
In 2012, Iger bought Lucasfilm which gave Disney the rights to Lucasfilm properties like Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Galaxy’s Edge and their TV shows have been doing really well, earning praise from both fans and critics. The newer films, however, have had mixed responses.
Iger also managed to build a new theme park in Shanghai in June 2016 with a cost around $5.5 billion.
In 2019, Walt Disney bought 21st Century Fox for $71.3 billion dollars which not only increased the Walt Disney Company’s control of a studio and a large part of the entertainment industry, but also acquired the rights to many FOX movies, shows and characters associated with the Studio like The Simpsons, Avatar and most importantly, the X-men and Fantastic Four.
It is upsetting knowing he won’t be in charge of Disney anymore, but with all the successes that he had in his time with Disney, it goes to show that he deserves a well-deserved break and we hope to see good things with Bob Chapek in his new career as CEO.
