Chapek OUT, Iger IN....

Just got an email from a Disney News site that stated that Bob Chapek is gone and Bob Iger is back as CEO of Disney!

What is this going to mean for the future? I know not a lot in the near future, but beyond that?

Bob Iger, one of the most successful CEOs in the history of The Walt Disney Company, is returning to once again run the media empire. It’s a shocking development at Hollywood’s biggest company. Bob Chapek, who replaced Iger in 2020 as CEO, is stepping down immediately. “We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic,” Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Disney, said in a statement on Sunday night. “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.”

The CNN Business post:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/20/media...ceo/index.html

Thank goodness. I hope he changes it for the better.

I sincerely hope that Bob Iger gets back to basics in the theme Parks and make them the Happiest Place on earth again - instead of what it is now. :( Of course, I have not personally experienced it; I have only read about the misery. Hopefully, for me anyway, it means that I might actually consider returning to Disney World in Florida next year. If so, it would be the first time I have done that in over 7 years. :D

I am happy that Iger is back, as it never felt like Chapek saw Disney as anything more than a variety of untapped revenue streams. He lacked the vision and creativity, and dare I say it, joy, of what immersive storytelling can be.

That said, I will reserve judgement until we see what Iger does. I think that a lot of Disney fans have this idea that Iger is going to rollback all of the Chapek price increases and policies, and I am not sure than he will.

Thank goodness. Any change is a good change because at least we have hope they may bring the happiness back. It makes you wonder if they finally heard all of us long time fans and visitors.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1DisneyNut

Thank goodness. Any change is a good change because at least we have hope they may bring the happiness back. It makes you wonder if they finally heard all of us long time fans and visitors.

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I am hopeful, but I don't think it has anything to do with the fans and visitors. I think it had to do with the media department failing to bring in the amount of money they wanted.

But see that's just it -- Disney isn't bringing in the money they want because the money comes from the fans and the visitors. Fail to deliver compelling stories and Disney service, and the fans and the visitors stop paying.

The fundamental flaw in Disney's board's reasoning keeps rearing its ugly head. You can't make the shareholders happy if you don't make the guests happy -- because THE GUESTS ARE THE SHAREHOLDERS.

You'd think they'd have learned after the Philadelphia Experiment, when we all showed up to express our disapproval of Mr. Eisner. Chapek was worse, and Iger even warned them, but they had to find out the hard way. The 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World was basically a flop, and that rests squarely at Chapek's feet.

Let's hope whatever they do with the 100th anniversary of the Company will make up for it.

They dropped the resort parking fees. We'll see what other changes get made.

It all depends going forward whether they see the people who want to visit the parks as honored guests... or cash cows to be milked of every possible dollar.