Bob Iger, the beloved former CEO of The Walt Disney Company, will return as its head. The recent CEO, Bob Chapek, will be stepping down after just two years. Iger will be running the company since the Board believes that he is uniquely situated for the task at hand, as mentioned in Gizmodo.
The Return of the First Bob
Iger was the CEO of the mass media company for 15 years. In that time, he managed to achieve remarkable things for Disney. He manages to acquire Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox. In just under a year, he obtained Pixar Animated Studios, according to MasterClass.
He will be taking on the job for two years, which will help the media giant navigate through a "complex period of industry transformation." Iger led the company to such a level of success, that it has seen a 400% annual net income increase. This attests to the statement saying that he is suited to lead the company into new ventures.
It was also Iger who brought Disney's new intellectual properties to reality. The company debuted "Cars Land" based on the movie "Cars," in California Disneyland back in 2012. He also opened "Star Wars Galaxy's Edge" in the same mentioned place, as well as in Disney World Resort in Florida.
The acquisition of several studios granted Disney rights to several big titles. This includes franchises like "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" from Lucasfilm. Other than that, he also has "Avatar," "The Simpsons," and "X-Men" under his belt.
His success has been acknowledged by Times, naming him Businessperson of the Year back in 2019. He also published a memoir called "The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company." The memoir tells of his experiences and achievements as Disney's CEO, which earned the New York Times bestseller title.
The Misfortunes of the Second Bob
Unfortunately, Chapek did not have the same magic touch as Iger. It did not help that he took over at a time when the world was in a crisis. The pandemic played a huge part in the slight fall of Disney, due to many of its operations shutting down. He has also made controversial statements, implying that adults would rather watch something else than an animated movie.
Perhaps, he did not take into account that some of those animated films were released decades ago. The people who grew up watching them are now adults. It's not impossible for some to go back to those films for old times' sake. Even animated films now are watched by adults. Personally, I would rewatch movies like "Ratatouille" or "Toy Story" just to feel the magic I felt as a kid.
Chapek also ran into some trouble with Avengers star, Scarlett Johansson. Reports say that she sued the company regarding the earnings of the show "Black Widow." He stated that the deal was made four years ago, and that consumer behavior is different now as it is released in a different set of conditions.
