Disney COO Thomas Staggs Steps Down

[adam.adbe]

...I don't like that one either.

I hear Marisa Mayer will be available soon

I had high hopes for Mayer at Yahoo. This is why I don't play the lottery.

 

[Eoghann]

My prediction... whoever they pick nothing much will change.

People over-state the effect of CEOs on giant corporations. Someone like Jobs is the exception, not the rule. What has Iger done that's radically different from Eisner?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

My prediction... whoever they pick nothing much will change.

People over-state the effect of CEOs on giant corporations. Someone like Jobs is the exception, not the rule. What has Iger done that's radically different from Eisner?

Nothing and I agree

Iger is exactly what Eisner was quoted in 2002 as saying he was: an empty suit.

Though he has held his own more than I thought he would.

It's the BOARD that needs to go with Staggs...a bunch of do nothing talking heads. They need some people with guts and some with creative genes...they need an "edge" back

 

[cmash95]

VISA: My Disney Visa points & financing have a substantial impact on my travel plans. I'm not interested in ever carrying an American Express card.

Minimum Wage: Disney will manage just fine, especially in California. A higher wage will lead to more local visitors having funds to spend in the parks. This will probably be a big win for those parks.

A higher wage will mean more price increases actually i see a time in the next 10 years if the wage situation isn't reversed that disney would sell the parks and do as they do with tokyo and license the name so they don't have to deal with the mess. and I think one of the reasons staggs left was that he saw the writing on the wall and that iger isn't leaving in 2018.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

A higher wage will mean more price increases actually i see a time in the next 10 years if the wage situation isn't reversed that disney would sell the parks and do as they do with tokyo and license the name so they don't have to deal with the mess. and I think one of the reasons staggs left was that he saw the writing on the wall and that iger isn't leaving in 2018.

If you're gonna debate the economic theory of wage increases - because it is an unproven debate - might I suggest that you favor the "Princeton" school of thought...

Which is that more money in the hands of more people actually is better than everyone and regulates pricing more effectively than most other tools.

What I call "trickle up economics"

 

[JimmyV]

People over-state the effect of CEOs on giant corporations.

This is especially true when the giant corporation is so diverse in what it produces. Not all markets rise and fall together. Perhaps when movie receipts are up (which they are now), people at home think: "Hmmm. My family spent $200 at the movie theater this month. We can't afford a $200 monthly budget for feature films and $200 a month for premium cable TV. So I think we'll cut out cable." So when movies do great in the theater, maybe cable receipts decline. And vice versa. (That is a made up hypothetical. I have no idea if it holds true.) But the point is, when you are as diverse as Disney is, it is irrational to think that Parks and Resorts, Films, TV, Video Games, and everything else you make and sell, can all go up at the same time. There is naturally going to be some market hedging. But as soon as the Board starts to see one sector suffer, it overreacts as if it wants all sectors to report record profits simultaneously. That's an admirable goal, but hardly one that I think is realistic.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

My prediction... whoever they pick nothing much will change.

People over-state the effect of CEOs on giant corporations. Someone like Jobs is the exception, not the rule. What has Iger done that's radically different from Eisner?

Maybe I'm in the minority but it certainly seems to me that there were more changes and growth under Eisner than anything Iger has done. Yes things slowed after Wells died but other economic factors changed during some of these periods as well. The parks changed for the better and movies really started to see a resurgence developing IPs that the company still rolls out for new things today. To me Iger was just a man of acquisitions and not much else. Maybe he never had a Wells type to push him but surrounding himself with bankers and creative killers certainly didn't drive much.

 

[luisov]

Maybe I'm in the minority but it certainly seems to me that there were more changes and growth under Eisner than anything Iger has done. Yes things slowed after Wells died but other economic factors changed during some of these periods as well. The parks changed for the better and movies really started to see a resurgence developing IPs that the company still rolls out for new things today. To me Iger was just a man of acquisitions and not much else. Maybe he never had a Wells type to push him but surrounding himself with bankers and creative killers certainly didn't drive much.

That's true, but then again, Iger had to correct most of Eisner's mistakes. Disney Animation wasn't doing well, so Iger purchased Pixar and appointed Lasseter as creative supervisor for both studios. He also acquired Star Wars and Marvel when the live-action studios started to underperform. And he basically had to deal with 3 cheaply done, underperforming theme parks commissioned be Eisner (Studios in Paris, Hong Kong and DCA).

Eisner sure is responsible for Disney's massive expansion in the 90's but at the same time, his post-Frank Wells years created quite a lot of problems that Iger had to deal with.

 

[JimmyV]

And he basically had to deal with 3 cheaply done, underperforming theme parks commissioned be Eisner (Studios in Paris, Hong Kong and DCA).

I think you need to add Disney/MGM to this list as well. That certainly qualifies as a cheaply done park that has seen almost nothing from its original Eisner iteration survive. Eisner built a lot of things. But some (much?) of what he built was...

 

[yitbos96bb]

My prediction... whoever they pick nothing much will change.

People over-state the effect of CEOs on giant corporations. Someone like Jobs is the exception, not the rule. What has Iger done that's radically different from Eisner?

CEOs set the strategic direction of a corporation. They have a very significant role in large or small companies. Look at how Fiorina hurt HP for example with the compaq merger as an example.

Iger significantly expanded the revenue lines for the company via focusing on branding... ESPN, PIXAR, MARVEL, STAR WARS. The acquisitions were all part of this strategy. Revenue and stock value significantly increased during his time period. While we fans may not like everything he has done, including some of what we've seen in the Theme parks, shareholders and the board love the guy for the reasons I mentioned above. Iger's term reminds me of Eisner's pre and for the first few years after Frank Wells death. The rest of his tenure with the Katzenberg and Ovitz stuff, the Roy Disney revolt, etc. marred Eisner.

I'm not saying i love everything Iger did BUT from a impact of the CEO perspective, he did a lot.

 

[yitbos96bb]

A higher wage will mean more price increases actually i see a time in the next 10 years if the wage situation isn't reversed that disney would sell the parks and do as they do with tokyo and license the name so they don't have to deal with the mess. and I think one of the reasons staggs left was that he saw the writing on the wall and that iger isn't leaving in 2018.

Staggs left because they wouldn't guarantee him the job. That's the only reason he left.

 

[yitbos96bb]

What about a guy like Matt Ouimet? He's a CEO of a large theme park corporation and was a stud when he worked for Disney. He didn't yes man Rasulo who passed him over for disaster Meg Crofton, so he walked. Which was a shame.

He doesn't have the Hollywood background, but if you brought him in as COO and gave him until 2018 to 2020 (if Iger extends) he should be in great shape.

Doubt it happens, but man as a theme park fan, how awesome would it be to have Ouimet in charge.

 

[Eoghann]

CEOs set the strategic direction of a corporation. They have a very significant role in large or small companies. Look at how Fiorina hurt HP for example with the compaq merger as an example.

CEOs are board appointees and generally the CEO and the board shares a strategic goal and direction. Major decisions like the merger are approved by the board too. The notion of the "lone wolf CEO" is essentially fiction in publicly traded companies. This is also why when CEOs are parachuted in to companies to rescue them, it usually doesn't work.

 

[JimmyV]

Staggs left because they wouldn't guarantee him the job. That's the only reason he left.

At best, that is the symptom and not the cause. They wouldn't guarantee him the job because ________________________________. If everything had been hunky dory, they would have said: "You have nothing to worry about, Tom." But they didn't, and there has to be a reason for that. And that reason(s) is why he left. There is something that they saw or didn't see in him that made them say: "We can't make any promises", or worse yet: "We really don't see this working out for you, Tom." It wasn't that conversation that made him leave. It was the reasoning behind why they couldn't promise him the job that made him leave.

By way of example, a person who works under you botches three projects in a row. That person comes into your office and says: "I hear that the company will be promoting someone from my Unit. I would like to be considered for that promotion. Do you think I have a chance?" You say: "I don't see you getting that promotion." The employee then resigns. Did they resign because of the conversation, or was their departure the result of their poor performance that then caused you to tell them that the promotion was not in the cards? The conversation is simply the last step of a process that was already in motion.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I think you need to add Disney/MGM to this list as well. That certainly qualifies as a cheaply done park that has seen almost nothing from its original Eisner iteration survive. Eisner built a lot of things. But some (much?) of what he built was...

I'll say again that maybe I'm in the minority but I certainly enjoyed the original concept of MGM Studios. Getting to do the tours of the TV production facilities and the animation department when it was operating were super interesting. I also really enjoyed the stage shows that came and went, the sound studio and the Superstar TV things where they blue screened people into old sitcom skits. I also liked the real backlot tour where you actually saw things like the Golden Girls house and the other props.

The massive change needed now has more to do with a decade of neglect and closures without replacements than the initial design.

 

[JimmyV]

I'll say again that maybe I'm in the minority but I certainly enjoyed the original concept of MGM Studios.

I agree. You are in the minority on that one. Nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But you are correct that you are in the minority there.

The massive change needed now has more to do with a decade of neglect and closures without replacements than the initial design.

I disagree with this one. The changes are the continued need to try to fashion some sense of order out of a hodge-podge park that never had a sense of place or purpose. I suppose that one could say that the original design of the working studio had that common thread. But it was one that didn't grab the attention of many people. Imagine DHS without TSMM, Star Tours, RnR and ToT. That is what people were confronted with when the park opened. It is beyond debate that Disney/MGM was slapped together quickly to beat Universal to the punch of opening a studio-based park. And it was a house of straw, in my opinion.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I'll say again that maybe I'm in the minority but I certainly enjoyed the original concept of MGM Studios. Getting to do the tours of the TV production facilities and the animation department when it was operating were super interesting. I also really enjoyed the stage shows that came and went, the sound studio and the Superstar TV things where they blue screened people into old sitcom skits. I also liked the real backlot tour where you actually saw things like the Golden Girls house and the other props.

The massive change needed now has more to do with a decade of neglect and closures without replacements than the initial design.

i'm with you, although ive always thought it needed to be a mixture of studios and theme park. It's neat to see how tv shows and movies are made, then give me an option to ride something themed after the show or movie.

IMO neglect is what lead DHS to where it is today

 

[Eoghann]

i'm with you, although ive always thought it needed to be a mixture of studios and theme park. It's neat to see how tv shows and movies are made, then give me an option to ride something themed after the show or movie.

IMO neglect is what lead DHS to where it is today

No it's more than neglect. The original concept failed. It couldn't make it as a working studio and without that they were left with a poorly laid out park and not enough to do.

 

[rteetz]

Jim Hill and Len Testa came out with a show on this subject. China/Shanghai is a interesting subject with the Disney company. Staggs was well involved in this Chinese park and as we all know that park is behind schedule and way over budget. Jim also mentions that there might be some involvement in the Panama Papers. Either way this is one major change in Disney management that is going to be very very interesting to follow along.

 

[yitbos96bb]

CEOs are board appointees and generally the CEO and the board shares a strategic goal and direction. Major decisions like the merger are approved by the board too. The notion of the "lone wolf CEO" is essentially fiction in publicly traded companies. This is also why when CEOs are parachuted in to companies to rescue them, it usually doesn't work.

It's not a lone wolf, but to insinuate that the CEO is some appointed figurehead is just plain wrong.