On the throne of the Enchanted Kingdom, a Bob replaces another. To everyone's surprise, Disney announced Tuesday the appointment of Bob Chapek to replace Bob Iger as CEO. As the group said in a statement, Iger does not completely turn his back on Mickey. "To ensure a smooth and successful transition", he will continue to "lead artistic initiatives" and chair the board of directors. It was not until the end of 2021 that Bob Iger, 69, would bow out for good.
After a fifteen-year reign marked by the buyouts of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, this departure is not a surprise in itself. The timing of the announcement, however, surprised many observers, no corridor noise suggesting in recent weeks that the name of the successor would be announced this week.
For Iger, however, this transfer of power comes at an "optimal time" for those who leave behind a flattering balance sheet. All the lights are green for the firm with big ears, which had a record year at the box office in 2019 thanks to "Avengers: Endgame", "Frozen II" or "The Lion King". Disney digests the purchase of Fox, a 71 billion dollar transaction, rather well and the launch of its Disney + platform, available next month in France, exceeded all expectations with nearly 29 million subscribers in only three months.
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Potential successor "for some time now"
"Bob Iger has succeeded," sums up Sébastien Durand, specialist in Disney history. "The different strategic maneuvers he carried out all ended in success," says Frédéric Fréry, professor of strategy at ESCP. Suffice to say that the pressure on the shoulders of Bob Chapek, seventh CEO of the group almost 100 years old, will be enormous. He was the first to realize this "Obviously I have great shoes to put on," he admitted on CNBC.
As Disney appears more powerful than ever, the main challenge for Bob Chapek, 60, is to keep the group at the top of the bill. This is not the easiest challenge for Frédéric Fréry: “With all the purchases made, Iger had the intelligence to add fuel to the machine. The question we can ask ourselves now that Disney owns almost all the successful licenses in the world is whether they will manage to get the best out of them or will not use some of them until the rope. The border is sometimes thin. "
The name of Chapek did not come out of the hat by chance. If he does not have the charisma or experience of Bob Iger in the artistic sector, he was nevertheless considered a potential successor "for some time now," said his predecessor. "Internally, he was one of two or three possible candidates," underlines Sébastien Durand. His CV may mention a degree in microbiology from Indiana University - he grew up in this state in Hammond, a town in the "Rust Belt" -, this father of three then turned to marketing at Heinz and advertising for the Walter Thompson agency, before crossing the gates of the Enchanted Kingdom 27 years ago.
A child in an amusement park
At Disney, Bob Chapek has managed to make his mark in several areas, starting with the distribution of films. As the New York Times recalls, it was the spearhead of the “safe” for the animation classics produced by Disney, a strategy consisting in distributing the feature films on video for a given period before removing them from the then market them again years later. “For Disney, it was a way of saying that their films were exceptional. They did not want to drop them from their pedestal, ”explains Sébastien Durand.
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It was then on the side of derivatives that Chapek imposed its leg between 2011 and 2015. Years crowned with financial success but also marked by serious cuts in the workforce. Derivatives then parks, Bob Chapek was until then in charge of two very profitable sectors for the group. As such, he was on the front line for the opening of the Shanghai park in 2016 and the debut of "Galaxy's Edge".
Hailed for their innovations, these huge spaces entirely dedicated to "Star Wars" in the Anaheim (California) historic park and in Orlando (Florida) also won Disney many criticisms when they started out for the way the strong was managed. affluence. Aficionados of American Disney parks also remember that ticket prices increased sharply during the Chapek years.
It is not for want of maintaining an emotional bond with them. When he was a child, Bob Chapek's parents took him to see Mickey and his friends every year in Florida. "This is where I developed a deep love for Disney and all that it represents," he said during a conference call after his appointment.