Disney is shaking up their C-Suite with the return of a familiar face. The Dow Jones entertainment giant's board appointed Bob Iger to return as chief executive, effective immediately. He replaces Bob Chapek, Iger's hand-picked successor who took the helm in February 2020. Disney stock jumped on Monday following the news.
Iger served at the helm of Disney for 15 years during a total of four decades with the company. For Iger's latest stint, he will serve as CEO for two years and work closely with the board to set the company's strategic direction for renewed growth. Plans also call for developing a successor to lead Disney at the completion of his role.
"We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic," said Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board. "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."
Following his departure, Iger served as executive chairman for Disney until he retired at the end of 2021.
Chapek's Tenure As CEO
Chapek stepped down as CEO two and a half years after being picked by Iger to serve as his replacement. Chapek was immediately thrust into an intense battle for streaming supremacy, and a pandemic that shut down theme-park revenue.
In a memo on Nov. 11, Chapek warned that Disney planned to cut its workforce and business travel, and to implement a hiring freeze and a "cost structure task force." He called these part of a series of "tough and uncomfortable decisions" required to navigate the current landscape.
The House of Mouse will hike the price of its Disney+ subscriptions and incorporate and ad-tiered version of its streaming service in early December. After previously raising the price of its Hulu and ESPN+ streaming platforms as it looks to cut costs.
Activist investors tried to steer the ship in recent months as well. Dan Loeb's Third Point bought a $1 billion stake in Disney at the end of September, a move that led to the addition of former Meta Platforms executive Carolyn Everson to the board. Loeb initially pushed for Disney to spin out ESPN into a stand-alone entity, but later reversed his position.
Disney Stock
Disney stock rose more than 6.3% on Monday after leaping 10% premarket following the announcement. DIS stock is down about 41% so far this year and in early November fell to its lowest level since March 2020.
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