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- November 21, 2022
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Not even three months ago Bob Iger appeared at a popular tech and media conference looking relaxed and extolling the benefits of being retired. After delaying his retirement for several years, the mogul had stepped down as CEO of Disney at the height of its success and installed longtime lieutenant Bob Chapek as his successor. But Iger, sporting a salt-and-pepper beard at the Code Conference in September, didn’t seem to have any regrets about leaving the job he’d held for 15 years—which might have a little something to do with the fact that he vacated the role less than a month before COVID-19 created unprecedented chaos in Hollywood. “Retirement is great,” he said. “I have a vastly different life than I had before.” So a shockwave rippled through Hollywood Sunday night when Disney announced that Iger would be returning to lead the company.
“The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the company through this pivotal period,” Disney chairman Susan Arnold said in a statement. She also thanked Chapek, who has stepped down from his role immediately, for his service to Disney.
The last few years haven’t been nearly so zen for Chapek, who’s had to navigate a global pandemic that forced movie theaters to close, cruise ships to dock, and theme parks to turn guests away. More recently, investors have become frustrated by the mounting losses at Disney’s streaming business, an initiative that Iger spearheaded before he departed. After the company reported a $1.5 billion loss for the streaming division, which includes Disney+, its stock plummeted. Disney shares are down more than 41% since the beginning of the year.
Iger handpicked Chapek to succeed him, but it’s well known in Hollywood that he hasn’t always agreed with the latter’s decisions. Still, it was considered unlikely that he would make a move to return to Disney. In June, the board reupped Chapek for an additional three years in a move that seemed designed to show that they were behind him in spite of public missteps, including his handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
In a memo to Disney staff sent Sunday evening, Iger himself expressed surprise over the move. “It is with an incredible sense of gratitude and humility—and, I must admit, a bit of amazement—that I write to you this evening with the news that I am returning to The Walt Disney’s Company as Chief Executive Offer,” he said.
Iger was named CEO of Disney for the first time in 2005. He attempted to retire four times before finally ceding the role to Chapek. But even after exiting the CEO post, he stayed on as executive chairman until last December. In fact, in April 2020, the New York Times reported that Iger had “effectively returned to running the company” as it responded to the pandemic.
The Disney board has signed 71-year-old Iger to a two-year contract and plans to work with him to identify a successor for when his term ends. Iger told staff in his memo that they will hear more from him soon. “I know the company has asked so much of you during the past three years, and these times certainly remain quite challenging,” he wrote, “but as you have heard me say before, I am an optimist, and if I learned one thing from my years at Disney, it is that even in the face of uncertainty—perhaps especially in the face of uncertainty—our employees and Cast Members achieve the impossible.”
This story will be updated.
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