DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[HokieRaven5]

This committee was put together in Jan 2023. Gorman just joined the committee in Aug 2024. Should it take 3+ yrs to find a successor? Lol. Why is Disney so bad at this succession stuff?

Less than half of the CEOs in Disney’s history have had any long term success in general. Roy, Michael Eisner, Bob Iger.

Still love Roy’s divesting the company from Walt Disney in 1952 and paying him more for use of his name and likeness with all of the productions and materials, which helped provide Walt the necessary capital for WED and Disneyland. Granted even that led to a shareholder lawsuit in the 1950s.

 

[New Mouse]

Interesting that Iger seems to have a lot of influence on the search. What does the board get paid for???

Interesting because he epic failed at it last time.

 

[RivShore]

This committee was put together in Jan 2023. Gorman just joined the committee in Aug 2024. Should it take 3+ yrs to find a successor? Lol. Why is Disney so bad at this succession stuff?

That is the question!

And all that time is just needed to find someone, not get them trained and up and running.

Just to give some perspective on how bad and how long it's gone on for - if we consider Chapek a trial run that would be 6 years of trying to find a successor. Or to go back even further - Iger was originally supposed to retire in 2018...8 freaking years of searching for a successor. How is that anything but a giant failure on the CEO and Boards part?

Why they don't go the COO/heir apparent route, I do not understand. I'm sure they are gun shy because they have a history of losing good execs once a COO is named but that bandaid will have to be ripped off sooner or later. Do it sooner, let the COO get fully up to speed and have a seamless transition...for once!!!!!!!!!!! This ain't rocket science, other companies have done it again and again.

 

[wabbott]

That is the question!

And all that time is just needed to find someone, not get them trained and up and running.

Just to give some perspective on how bad and how long it's gone on for - if we consider Chapek a trial run that would be 6 years of trying to find a successor. Or to go back even further - Iger was originally supposed to retire in 2018...8 freaking years of searching for a successor. How is that anything but a giant failure on the CEO and Boards part?

Why they don't go the COO/heir apparent route, I do not understand. I'm sure they are gun shy because they have a history of losing good execs once a COO is named but that bandaid will have to be ripped off sooner or later. Do it sooner, let the COO get fully up to speed and have a seamless transition...for once!!!!!!!!!!! This ain't rocket science, other companies have done it again and again.

From Tuesday's WSJ article, there is this comment from Gorman:

He said at the time that the first step in a successful transition is having an incumbent who wants to leave, rather than being compelled to depart because of their age or tenure.

“Once you arrive at the decision that you want to leave, it’s much easier to embrace life after that and to support your successor and stay away,” Gorman said in the interview.

As we saw in the early 2000s, Michael Eisiner didn't want to leave - Roy Edward Disney had to gin up a shareholder revolt to dynamite him out of the position.

I think its quite evident we have the same situation today with Iger. He thinks he is indispensable.

 

[clarker99]

That is the question!

And all that time is just needed to find someone, not get them trained and up and running.

Just to give some perspective on how bad and how long it's gone on for - if we consider Chapek a trial run that would be 6 years of trying to find a successor. Or to go back even further - Iger was originally supposed to retire in 2018...8 freaking years of searching for a successor. How is that anything but a giant failure on the CEO and Boards part?

Why they don't go the COO/heir apparent route, I do not understand. I'm sure they are gun shy because they have a history of losing good execs once a COO is named but that bandaid will have to be ripped off sooner or later. Do it sooner, let the COO get fully up to speed and have a seamless transition...for once!!!!!!!!!!! This ain't rocket science, other companies have done it again and again.

It is systemic. I can't even imagine the office politicking in Burbank. Lol.

These issues of older execs hanging on for the top job, while burying young talent (who then leave) and then the execs bail themselves if they can't be CEO is a very large problem. The culture has to change but it is built in to the fabric of the company.

 

[RivShore]

From Tuesday's WSJ article, there is this comment from Gorman:

He said at the time that the first step in a successful transition is having an incumbent who wants to leave, rather than being compelled to depart because of their age or tenure.

“Once you arrive at the decision that you want to leave, it’s much easier to embrace life after that and to support your successor and stay away,” Gorman said in the interview.

As we saw in the early 2000s, Michael Eisiner didn't want to leave - Roy Edward Disney had to gin up a shareholder revolt to dynamite him out of the position.

I think its quite evident we have the same situation today with Iger. He thinks he is indispensable.

That sure sounded like it was directed at our Bob.

 

[bbeagle]

This ain't rocket science, other companies have done it again and again.

This IS rocket science with a company like Disney.

Disney's CEO is always front and center, the face of the company, and in the media's eye. That's how Disney does it.

The Disney CEO needs to be charismatic, charming, warm, friendly, and seem like a really nice, inviting person. Most other companies CEOs are not the face of the company, but Disney's are.

That's the real reason Bob Chapek failed. He was in a war with the Florida governor as well! Does Alphabet's CEO need to be charming or charismatic? No. Does Universal's need to be? No.

If Disney's CEO is just a number's guy or gal, there needs to be another face to the company.

 

[clarker99]

There is so much wrong with the way Iger has handled succession. Obviously, there is some hubris involved but Iger had waffled for years about how he is gonna retire and then he isn't and give me 2 more years etc etc. This waffling was truly unprofessional. He should have kept to himself or kept his word. It really is just not cool and it cost the company some really great people.

Then he just up and quits in the face of a pandemic. It was staggeringly selfish.

These types of things set precedents and the next CEO will think they can treat the situation the same way.

Hopefully the Succession Planning Committee is successful and it becomes a permanent fixture that can help change the succession culture within Disney.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

In the end, I can see James Gorman jettisoning out Bob Iger earlier than planned.

 

[TsWade2]

https://puck.news/newsletter_conten...g-blame-game-gormans-disney-anora-intrigue-2/

What I’m Hearing: Offshoring Blame Game, Gorman’s Disney & ‘Anora’ Intrigue

by Matthew Belloni

A little more on the Disney news…

Gorman, the former Morgan Stanley C.E.O., is, by all accounts, a very serious person. So after chatting with a couple Disney insiders, here’s my read on his elevation to board chair and the delay of a decision on Iger’s replacement until “early 2026”:

1. Unlike last time around with Bob Chapek, Iger won’t be as influential in the choice of his successor. This is Gorman’s plane to land.
2. Perhaps most important, the delay suggests the internal candidates aren’t currently cutting it—or at least that neither parks chief Josh D’Amaro nor TV head Dana Walden (or, if we’re being generous, Jimmy Pitaro at ESPN and Alan Bergman in film) have convinced the board there is currently an internal person worthy of the golden mouse ears to elevate and anoint now. Which we all kinda knew—none of the four candidates is a perfect package of experience and skill set—but it wasn’t a given that the board actually recognized this. Now we know they do.
3. A more robust search outside the company is likely.
4. Gorman likely would not ascend to board chair in ’25 only to abdicate it to Iger at the end of ’26. So the speculation that Iger will stay on to run the Disney board and thus loom large over the new C.E.O. as essentially his or her boss may be misplaced. More likely, Iger will simply join the board as a director, or even leave the company completely (though I doubt he can do that… See: last time around).
5. Today’s announcement also signals to the media to lay off a bit, since nothing’s happening for at least a year. It won’t quell the speculation over the most important job in entertainment, of course, but it may temper the sense that a move is imminent.

I hope that is the case, we want an outsider yo create new blood for Disney.

 

[RivShore]

This IS rocket science with a company like Disney.

Disney's CEO is always front and center, the face of the company, and in the media's eye. That's how Disney does it.

The Disney CEO needs to be charismatic, charming, warm, friendly, and seem like a really nice, inviting person. Most other companies CEOs are not the face of the company, but Disney's are.

That's the real reason Bob Chapek failed. He was in a war with the Florida governor as well! Does Alphabet's CEO need to be charming or charismatic? No. Does Universal's need to be? No.

If Disney's CEO is just a number's guy or gal, there needs to be another face to the company.

I don't disagree with much of what you say but it does not excuse the poor 8 YEAR succession process they have been going thru!

And they are not the only company in the world that has needed to replace a "celebrity" CEO. According to many an analyst, Apple was going to crash and burn after the untimely death of Steve Jobs. Instead they had a highly successful plan and succession process with Tim Cook. Many highly successful tech company's have moved on from celebrity/founder CEO's and continued their success-Google and Microsoft come to mind, and I'm sure there are others. It can be done, it has been done, and us longtime shareholders have had enough with this 8 year process!!!!

 

[Brian Noble]

The other interesting thing about Disney is that there aren't really any other obvious training grounds. I can't think of any other company that does all three of: Theatrical, Live sports, and Experiences. So an outsider is almost certain to lack experience in at least one of those three things, if not two of them. The first two of those three are under immense pressure that was accelerated by the pandemic, and facing serious disruption.

It's not an easy job.

 

[Cfabar1]

I have yet to hear Disney articulate a clear strategy as to what their ultimate plan is. I am not hearing this from Iger or from anyone else for that matter. If I had to articulate their strategy it seems to be invest in as much as we can, while at the same time spend as little as we can, and leverage how several seemingly diverse parts of the organization can find synergy.

That is hardly inspiring... I think that they need a dreamer and an operator. Most likely two separate people. I don't know who really has the experience.

I don't think Iger wants to leave, but I don't think he's exactly having fun either, and Disney seems to be faring no worse than traditional media companies. In many ways they are faring better than all of them - they are the "best of the rest" as it were. If the regulatory environment changes, I don't think an acquisition is off the table (Disney being acquired).

 

[wabbott]

https://puck.news/newsletter_content/gorman-to-the-rescue-cathie-the-destroyer/

Welcome back to Dry Powder. I’m Bill Cohan.
10/23/24

• Gorman to the rescue: Is Bob Iger finally getting serious about finding a successor? The appointment of James Gorman to lead the Disney board of directors, as of January 2, seems to suggest so. Gorman, of course, was the longtime and highly respected C.E.O. of Morgan Stanley, until earlier this year, when he turned the bank over to his handpicked successor, Ted Pick. Pick is off to a fine start; Morgan Stanley’s stock is up 25 percent so far this year.Disney’s headache is largely one of Iger’s own creation, ever since he chose Bob Chapek to succeed him in February 2020 and then immediately proceeded to undercut him, making it infinitely more difficult for him to lead the company. As you know, Chapek was fired two years later.
• 
  But now the succession process seems to have moved into professional hands. That was clear enough when Gorman joined the Disney board earlier this year, and when the board created the Orwellian-sounding Succession Planning Committee. Iger’s second stint as Disney’s C.E.O. will supposedly come to an end more than two years from now, in December 2026. Gorman and his fellow Disney board members promise to have selected Iger’s successor by early 2026.
• 
  I have no idea why this has been such a drawn-out debacle, other than for the obvious reason that Iger seems reluctant, at 73 years old, to hand over the reins of the company, in the same way Jamie Dimon, the C.E.O. of JPMorgan Chase, is having trouble giving up the top job at America’s top bank. One one hand, it’s hard to blame them: These jobs are high-profile, powerful, and extremely well paying. Dimon, for one, has become a billionaire during the 20 years or so he has been at the helm of JPMorgan Chase. Iger is wealthy, too: He and his wife, Willow Bay, just bought the majority stake in the Angel City Football Club, the women’s professional soccer team in Los Angeles, in a deal that values the team at around $250 million. Iger is also reportedly having a custom, 210-foot superyacht built, an upgrade from his current 180-foot dinghy. His net worth has been estimated at $700 million.
• 
  Once upon a time, these fortunes would be the preserve of founders and entrepreneurs who discovered a better mousetrap. Now, thanks to huge incentive-based pay packages, mere C-suite executives can amass wealth with generational implications. No wonder they don’t want to give up their keycards.
  
  

 

[wabbott]

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/disney-poised-announce-major-ai-220140600.html

Disney Poised to Announce Major AI Initiative | Exclusive
by Adam Chitwood - The Wrap
Thu, October 24, 2024 at 5:01 PM CDT

 

[RivShore]

The other interesting thing about Disney is that there aren't really any other obvious training grounds.

Very true. That's why you bring someone in well in advance of a CEO leaving, make that person the COO and get them up to speed on pieces of the business they don't have experience with. It's not easy but it can be done...I say again, 8 years is long enough.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Very true. That's why you bring someone in well in advance of a CEO leaving, make that person the COO and get them up to speed on pieces of the business they don't have experience with. It's not easy but it can be done...I say again, 8 years is long enough.

They did that years ago. Then Ike Perlmutter stuck his nose in it and his dislike of Tom Staggs permeated through and maybe some of Bobs own hubris kept Tom from it.

 

[RivShore]

They did that years ago. Then Ike Perlmutter stuck his nose in it and his dislike of Tom Staggs permeated through and maybe some of Bobs own hubris kept Tom from it.

So Ike is gone, why not try it again? And that example just shows, yet again, how bad Bob has been with succession.

Other companies have done this. Heck DIS did it, more or less successfully, with Iger/Eisner in 2000.

6 Years of their excuses is quite enough...If you can't tell, I am really annoyed that they pushed off the decision for another year+. It's just another giant question mark hanging over the stock.

 

[RivShore]

and maybe some of Bobs own hubris kept Tom from it.

That has to be part of the problem.

This Gorman quote, from before he joined the board, most certainly applies to Disney:

From Tuesday's WSJ article, there is this comment from Gorman:

He said at the time that the first step in a successful transition is having an incumbent who wants to leave, rather than being compelled to depart because of their age or tenure.

“Once you arrive at the decision that you want to leave, it’s much easier to embrace life after that and to support your successor and stay away,” Gorman said in the interview.

 

[clarker99]

They did that years ago. Then Ike Perlmutter stuck his nose in it and his dislike of Tom Staggs permeated through and maybe some of Bobs own hubris kept Tom from it.

A Skaggs/Mayer leadership duo with Iger on the Board. It was a no brainer.

Now Disney just pays them to consult on all things bc they seemingly have no one internally that can broker deals and handle media business. Kind of sad.

Anyway, time to move forward. The committee has a big job and no matter the decision we will all have some doubt.