End of an era at Disney. The CEO of the company of the last 15 years, Robert Iger, announced on Tuesday by surprise that he is leaving office and will be replaced “with immediate effect” by Bob Chapek, until now responsible for amusement parks. After his leadership at Disney, Bob Iger is one of the great magnates of Hollywood in this century. Under his mandate, the company went from a creativity crisis to being one of the biggest global entertainment brands.
Iger will remain as president with executive powers until the end of 2021 to assist the Board of Directors in the succession process, according to the statement from The Walt Disney Company. "With the successful launch of our direct consumer distribution business (the Disney + streaming service) and the integration with 21st Century Fox underway, I think it is the optimal time for the transition to a new CEO," Iger said in a statement .
“I have the biggest trust in Bob (Chapek) and I look forward to working with him for the next 22 months while he assumes his new role and delves into Disney's global and multifaceted business and operations, while I focus on the creative challenges of the company, ”adds the Iger statement. Chapek will report to Iger until he is appointed by the Council, on a date not yet determined.
Chapek's biography had already been modified on the corporate website of The Walt Disney Company minutes after the announcement. Chapek was so far responsible for parks, products and experiences of Disney, the most profitable division of the entertainment giant. In that position, he led the largest expansion in Disney history in this area, with the opening of Disneyland in Shanghai and the creation of the new Star Wars attractions in the parks of California and Florida.
In addition, the division headed by Chapek includes Disney's toys and marketing creations licenses, the travel agency, a cruise company, all Disney stores in the world and the world's largest children's book publisher, according to the web of the company.
Bob Iger began his media career on the ABC network in the early 1970s. He entered Disney when the company acquired this television network in the 1990s. Iger was the president. He acceded to the dome of Disney as chief of operations in 2000, under the presidency of Michael Eisner. After a controversial succession fight, he was appointed CEO of Disney in 2005.
In these years, Iger has turned the animation studio into an omnipresent global entertainment machine with a domain of the box office unprecedented in the industry. The year after he entered the position, he bought his rival Pixar, who at that time threatened Disney's dominance in animation with never-before-seen computer techniques and more creative stories with more intention than those of the legendary studio. The $ 7 billion operation also placed Pixar's creative bosses in charge of Disney Animation.
Subsequently, Iger bought Marvel Entertainment for 4,000 million dollars. In his recent memoir, The ride of a lifetime , the executive tells how at the time he saw it as an almost infinite source of characters to throw to make franchises. It has been that way. Since Iron Man (2008), Disney has exploited the Marvel universe to become the most successful movie franchise in box office history.
In 2012, Iger managed to convince George Lucas to sell him $ 4 billion Lucasfilm, the Star Wars producer. Since then, he has made five new films in the galactic saga, plus a television series ( The Mandalorian ) plus the largest expansion in Disneyland history to host two new Star Wars- based attractions.
Disney's growth was completed in 2018 with an agreement to absorb 21st Century Fox, one of the great classic Hollywood studios. With him, Disney acquires on the one hand a prestigious producer to make films outside the universes of Disney-Pixar-Star Wars-Marvel and also a gigantic archive that includes, for example, The Simpsons .
The relay in the dome occurs days after the first presentation of Disney results after the launch of Disney +, which at the end of December accumulated 26.5 million subscribers, according to the results of the first quarter.
Disney's revenues reached $ 20.9 billion in this period, 36% more than in the same period last year. His main revenue streams remain his television divisions (he owns the ESPN sports brand) and parks and products.