Disney makes surprise announcement of replacement for longtime CEO Bob Iger


In a surprise announcement, Disney has named a successor to its longtime CEO Bob Iger, who oversaw a banner year for the company in 2019, including the successful launch of a new streaming service and box office domination. Bob Chapek, the parks division head and a 27-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company, will replace Iger immediately, with Iger assuming the role of executive chairman until his contract ends on Dec. 31, 2021.
"With the successful launch of Disney's direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO," Iger said in a statement.
Iger has headed The Walt Disney Company for the past 15 years, recently publishing a memoir about his experience; the end of his tenure is a "seismic move" for the company, The Hollywood Reporter writes. Others have noted the strange and abrupt timing of Iger's exit, with strategist Matthew Ball observing on Twitter that the decision comes as Iger is "14 months into 36 month extension" and that he "didn't do this during blow-them-away earnings a few weeks ago."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Named the 2019 businessperson of the year by Time, Iger's announcement also follows a year when Disney dominated 33 percent of all domestic box office grosses, marking "the first time since at least 1999 that a single studio has commanded this much box office revenue in the U.S. and Canada," Variety reports. Disney+, which launched last November, garnered a massive 10 million subscribers within a day of its launch.
"Iger is unassailable," Time wrote in its profile last year, before Iger's surprise announcement. "He's transformed his company from a stuffy media doyen into a sexy cultural force. He can glide to retirement in 2021 on the fumes of that triumph."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect