Disney COO Thomas Staggs Steps Down

[rteetz]

You should probably go away more often then.

That's not the first time I've hear that.

 

[mcd2745]

Getting the feeling that Iger may have plans to stay on board longer after his failed NFL project.

That was my first thought...Iger is going to end up staying on even longer than 2018. Perhaps through 2021 covering the completion of the DHS expansions, the delivery of the new cruise ships, and the slate of Marvel and Star Wars movies already in the pipeline.

The news I read said that he oversaw the Shanghai project. I wonder if the inability to control the cost overages for that project and the resulting need to clamp down on expenses in other areas to compensate for it was the true cause of his getting the boot? The next Disney financials report will be interesting.

Seems like even though he was Iger's guy...he wasn't a favorite of the rest of the board. Add in what happened in Shanghai...and it may have been clear to Staggs that he was never going to get the board's blessing to replace Iger.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

That's not the first time I've hear that.

Hey!!

I just want you to be "well
Rounded"

 

[rteetz]

Ok this is what I've heard. The board wasn't going to give the CEO job to Staggs so the writing was on the wall. The board will likely go outside for a new CEO and the only internal candidate is Kathleen Kennedy.

 

[andyman8]

I posted briefly in the podcast forum but I'm going to go into a bit more detail here.

First of all, the initial reports seem to suggest that Mr. Staggs was looking for a formal commitment to be CEO, and given some of his fumbles in the last couple years (MM+, SDR, etc...), the Board was not fully comfortable with making that promise. Without that commitment, it seems Staggs walked. I had heard from a few sources a while back that while Staggs was very popular within the company, he did have a few enemies on the Board, but at the time, I didn't think much of it, for most high-ranking execs tend to, but perhaps those enemies were stronger than I thought. Anyways, I'm not assigning all the blame of SDR to him, keeping in mind that the project (despite him serving as the P&R chair) wasn't entirely orchestrated by him. Plus, I'm still not sure why the Disney fan community has married this idea that it's going to be an utter failure. Opening day tix sold out within hours. Despite the many problems and overruns with the project, I think this will be a success.

Also, it's moments like these that make me laugh a bit. It seems that the Disney fan community deems every CEO and exec at the Walt Disney Co. that didn't have the last name Disney to be terrible and it's a great day when they leave, and surely, they'll replacement will be much better. I mean Eisner was absolutely HATED by Disney fans in the late 90s/2000s, yet many of those same people today herald him as a savWell, while Mr. Staggs wasn't flawless and certainly had drawbacks, I honestly do think he had a creative vision for the company and wanted to accomplish that regardless, even willing to go over budget which definitely didn't help his case to be the next CEO. In this case, I think it's a classic "better the devil you know than the devil you don't." In terms of replacements, the only name I've heard floated around was (and I think this is very strange and am rather suspicious of this) Kathleen Kennedy of Lucasfilm. That said, my guess is (as the press has reported) they look for someone from outside of the company.

None the less, a very surprising series of events today. Iger will be around for a long time.

 

[andyman8]

BTW, here's a great quote from a Variety article about this.

A source said Staggs, 55, made the decision to leave after pressing for a formal commitment from the Disney board about his future ascent to the throne. When that didn’t come, the executive came to the decision that he did not want to wait another two years and that it was time to move on. There was also speculation that delays and cost overruns with the long-awaited Shanghai Disneyland park, now scheduled to open in June, played a part. He had shepherded the $5.5 billion project during his previous tenure as head of the Parks and Resorts division before his promotion to COO in February 2015. However, sources cautioned that many of those issues were spurred by the complexities of doing buisness in China.

 

[Eoghann]

Plus, I'm still not sure why the Disney fan community has married this idea that it's going to be an utter failure. Opening day tix sold out within hours. Despite the many problems and overruns with the project, I think this will be a success.

Because we tend to fixate on extremes and expect it to be either a brilliant success or a disaster of Titanic proportions. And I'm getting the sense a lot of fans sort of want it to fail just so they can say I told you so.

The reality will be much more dull. It's been bumpy and I'm predicting further bumps but even if it doesn't meet projections I don't think we're going to see a money sucking black hole that wipes out Disney.

 

[luisov]

Ok this is what I've heard. The board wasn't going to give the CEO job to Staggs so the writing was on the wall. The board will likely go outside for a new CEO and the only internal candidate is Kathleen Kennedy.

Well, that's interesting. I don't really know much about her, but at least it seems like she comes from a creative background rather than a business one. But then again, Iger has a TV background, and though his vision definitely helped the Walt Disney Studios, P&R was not exactly his priority.

 

[andyman8]

Because we tend to fixate on extremes and expect it to be either a brilliant success or a disaster of Titanic proportions. And I'm getting the sense a lot of fans sort of want it to fail just so they can say I told you so.

The reality will be much more dull. It's been bumpy and I'm predicting further bumps but even if it doesn't meet projections I don't think we're going to see a money sucking black hole that wipes out Disney.

Completely agree. My guess is that we'll, interestingly enough, see it play out similarly to MM+. There will be tons of bumps and delays along the way and plenty of budget overruns during prep and rollout, but ultimately, it will be a success even though expansion plans will be scaled back a bit or postponed. I mean Disney's track record with park openings (especially abroad) is checkered, so I do expect problems but nothing that cannot be recovered from.

 

[soniam]

Ok this is what I've heard. The board wasn't going to give the CEO job to Staggs so the writing was on the wall. The board will likely go outside for a new CEO and the only internal candidate is Kathleen Kennedy.

As much as I love Star Wars and admire Kathleen Kennedy, I think her as CEO would be a bad move. First, I think she takes things too seriously. It's a "cartoon" company for goodness sake. Second, I don't know if I would call her a creative type, but then again, most of the execs probably aren't. Third, I think her experienced has too narrow a focus for Disney. Fourth, I think many of the non-Star Wars Disney fans might really dread this.

 

[rteetz]

As much as I love Star Wars and admire Kathleen Kennedy, I think her as CEO would be a bad move. First, I think she takes things too seriously. It's a "cartoon" company for goodness sake. Second, I don't know if I would call her a creative type, but then again, most of the execs probably aren't. Third, I think her experienced has too narrow a focus for Disney. Fourth, I think many of the non-Star Wars Disney fans might really dread this.

That's probably true but I think she would do an okay job. The board really wants to go outside the company's from what I've seen.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I need to do some research on this...so far I'm not buying much of the explanations/details.

China is Staggs fault? That has
Been on the docket since Eisner ruled with an iron fist circa 2000...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

That's probably true but I think she would do an okay job. The board really wants to go outside the company's from what I've seen.

Kennedy is a good Lt....not a general.

She's great for what she does but I wouldn't put her in charge.

This "outsider" thing can be incredibly good or INCREDIBLY bad thing...definitely worth watching.

 

[rteetz]

Kennedy is a good Lt....not a general.

She's great for what she does but I wouldn't put her in charge.

This "outsider" thing can be incredibly good or INCREDIBLY bad thing...definitely worth watching.

On wdwmagic some have said they want Lasseter but I would much rather him stay in charge of the studios. He's doing just fine there.

 

[DDLand]

Something happened. I await the information on what really went down. It's not immediately clear why they would deny him the chance. He does seem to be lower charisma, but the divisions under his tenure thrived.

I worry for theme parks moving forward. Any external candidate would be at the whims of a board with no experience in the realm. It could be better but also much worse.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

On wdwmagic some have said they want Lasseter but I would much rather him stay in charge of the studios. He's doing just fine there.

Plus he's got his winery and other interests ... And not sure if the Hawaiian shirts work in the board room

 

[rteetz]

Plus he's got his winery and other interests ... And not sure if the Hawaiian shirts work in the board room

He wears a sport coat over those Hawaiian shirts for classier events

 

[luisov]

On wdwmagic some have said they want Lasseter but I would much rather him stay in charge of the studios. He's doing just fine there.

Lasseter loves both the studios as well as the parks, but I don't see him in that position. Some people have said that whenever a project is not of his liking he reacts by firing the director.

I think he's doing a great job supervising both animation studios, and perhaps it's better to keep it that way. Ed Catmull would probably fit better in that position, for that matter.

 

[rteetz]

Lasseter loves both the studios as well as the parks, but I don't see him in that position. Some people have said that whenever a project is not of his liking he reacts by firing the director.

I think he's doing a great job supervising both animation studios, and perhaps it's better to keep it that way. Ed Catmull would probably fit better in that position, for that matter.

I agree. John needs to stay where he is. Lots of hits coming out of the animation studios lately as well.

 

[soniam]

On wdwmagic some have said they want Lasseter but I would much rather him stay in charge of the studios. He's doing just fine there.

I think it would be a loss to the studios if Lasseter became CEO; however, I think it could be a boon for the company in general. I am torn. Mainly, because I don't know if there is anyone that could replace him at the studios. I think he is the type of person they need in charge of everything though.