Fascinating account of the Chapek-Iger battle in today's NY Times

[RivShore]

The initial idea of Iger CEO and Chapek COO probably would have been the ideal one...

Also unexplained in the article is what exactly happened with Christine McCarthy... There is definitely more to the story there as well....

I think they were/are reluctant to go the COO route with anyone after the Staggs disaster (yes, yet another succession mess). There was a link in the current article to the good article on how the whole Staggs thing went down.

Great point on McCarthy, it seemed like they were going to get into that drama and then nothing. And not any mention of the cooking the books accusations we heard on Chapek's way out the door. Just means we'll have to buy the book, I guess! LOL

 

[wabbott]

I think they were/are reluctant to go the COO route with anyone after the Staggs disaster (yes, yet another succession mess). There was a link in the current article to the good article on how the whole Staggs thing went down.

Great point on McCarthy, it seemed like they were going to get into that drama and then nothing. And not any mention of the cooking the books accusations we heard on Chapek's way out the door. Just means we'll have to buy the book, I guess! LOL

Someone is writing a book was the first thought that struck me when I read the article. Between Disney and the Redstone sagas, lots of ink has been spilled.

 

[RivShore]

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS/history/?period1=1410307200&period2=1726028584

Open: 89.54
High: 89.82
Low: 88.75
Close: 89.52
Adjusted Close: 81.74

Sept 10, 2014

Here's the definition https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/adjusted_closing_price.aspof Adjusted Closing Price

Meanwhile the value of a dollar today is $0.76 compared to 2014
https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=1&year1=202407&year2=201407

Thanks for those depressing numbers!

Just doing the math in my head (yes, very dangerous), that 2014 close would be about $100 in today's dollars...so in the last 10 years, the company has added a new successful park in Shanghai, countless rides and lands to existing parks, a dozen or two top grossing movies, created the second most successful streaming service in record time, bought and integrated a little company called Fox, launched their largest ship...and the stock is down 10% in those 10 years, yes there has been some bad (linier declines, Covid, inflation) to offset the good but quality leadership should be able to overcome that.

We can blame Covid and the fickleness of WS for some of the stock performance but a good chuck of the blame has to fall on the board and leadership - either they haven't laid out their vision properly or there is a problem with their vision.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Thank you very interesting article to go with the book Disney Wars

 

[Elijah Abrams]

I think they were/are reluctant to go the COO route with anyone after the Staggs disaster (yes, yet another succession mess). There was a link in the current article to the good article on how the whole Staggs thing went down.

They really should after Iger finally leaves and Alan Bergman (hopefully) takes over.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Thanks for those depressing numbers!

Just doing the math in my head (yes, very dangerous), that 2014 close would be about $100 in today's dollars...so in the last 10 years, the company has added a new successful park in Shanghai, countless rides and lands to existing parks, a dozen or two top grossing movies, created the second most successful streaming service in record time, bought and integrated a little company called Fox, launched their largest ship...and the stock is down 10% in those 10 years, yes there has been some bad (linier declines, Covid, inflation) to offset the good but quality leadership should be able to overcome that.

We can blame Covid and the fickleness of WS for some of the stock performance but a good chuck of the blame has to fall on the board and leadership - either they haven't laid out their vision properly or there is a problem with their vision.

I think I'm going to have to go with that there is a problem with their vision. First of all, they need to cool it on the number of ships they are launching, and second: Their streaming pursuit. Despite becoming successful and profitable, Disney+ (even with Hulu combined) is still eating away at their money. They need that money to make films, shows, and more rides, attractions, & expansions at their parks and resorts (especially the ones announced at this year's D23) or new projects at the latter are gonna end up either Paul Pressler-style cheap and/or lacking promised features. I believe one way to improve their streaming schtick is to shut Disney+ down and move all of its content to Hulu, which they own. They also don't need to manage Hulu's live TV feature, since they would have to manage contracts with channel owners.

If there's one person that can and should restore the magic back to Disney, it's Alan Bergman.

 

[VGCgroupie]

He ain't doing too well for us shareholders. But he does pay himself quite handsomely.

Not as handsomely as Les Moonves once made

 

[jeters_boy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/08/business/media/disney-bob-iger-chapek.html

Interesting and detailed account of the machinations of Chapek's installment and subsequent ousting, which does not seem to be paywalled.

Just finished reading, thanks for posting.

How do these CEOs find time to actually get work done in between all the scheming and backstabbing?

It sounded like Chapek lacked the interpersonal skills to be CEO, but his instinct to stay out of political fights was correct. The excuse that everyone else (Nike, Comcast, etc) is doing it is lazy and weak.

I really want to like Iger, but he does seem like a bit of a sociopath. Maybe that’s what it takes to get to that level. He seems to be a habitual liar. A little odd that the board asked him back, given this.

 

[Rush]

A lot of this is covered in the Land Of The Giants podcast, season 10, the Disney Dilema. Definitely worth the listen, informative and well produced. It covers way more than this drama and makes it clear this is not the first succession disaster at Disney, they’ve never gotten it right.

 

[RivShore]

A lot of this is covered in the Land Of The Giants podcast, season 10, the Disney Dilema. Definitely worth the listen, informative and well produced. It covers way more than this drama and makes it clear this is not the first succession disaster at Disney, they’ve never gotten it right.

That sounds like a worthwhile listen. Thanks for posting!

 

[BayTower2010]

In 1887 an English historian wrote Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. Iger started out with lots of positive vibes and great moves. He patched up the relations with Steve Jobs, purchased PIXAR, Lucas films, Marvel, and stumbled a bit in buying Fox. The press heeped praise on him. The studios were churning out one blockbuster after another. He thought himself bullet proof, see quote above. It was time to move on, but poor Chapek was a public relations nightmare. Disney should never have brought Iger back, but now they are stuck. There are times I feel the search for a new CEO is all lip service and the King wants to die in office.

 

[buzlite]

Just another hit piece. What Iger has been able to do for this company is beyond astounding. He understands the long term vision better than anyone else. I’ve read his book and was quite impressed. He has an ego as all mega corp CEOs do but he is intelligent enough to show Cast members how much they are valued. Could he pay them more? Yes of course. But most CEOs are too proud to even acknowledge that their company is built on the backs of low wage workers. He also got Inside Out 2 made right and pushed the right buttons with Deadpool.

 

[Jrb1979]

Just another hit piece. What Iger has been able to do for this company is beyond astounding. He understands the long term vision better than anyone else. I’ve read his book and was quite impressed. He has an ego as all mega corp CEOs do but he is intelligent enough to show Cast members how much they are valued. Could he pay them more? Yes of course. But most CEOs are too proud to even acknowledge that their company is built on the backs of low wage workers. He also got Inside Out 2 made right and pushed the right buttons with Deadpool.

Look at what's being done to the parks. As someone who could careless about their movies and media side of things, what he's doing to the parks is inexcusable. Now with the added premier LL system and its price point, he's really lost it. Burbank and his friends don't understand the parks and never have.

 

[buzlite]

Look at what's being done to the parks. As someone who could care less about their movies and media side of things, what he's doing to the parks is inexcusable. Now with the added premier LL system and its price point, he's really lost it. Burbank and his friends don't understand the parks and never have.

He’s giving the parks a long awaited investment with multiple new lands. Travel is trending towards a more luxury market and he’s given people an option. Either A) people spend the money on the premier LL system which makes it a success or B)They don’t and it doesn’t affect anyone.

The Disney CEOs job is about all of Disney. Without the movie studios there are no parks. If you don’t like Disney movies you likely aren’t the consumer Disney is targeting anyways.

You either pay in time waiting or in money. Skipping lines is becoming a huge business in travel. Even our local Halloween fair has a vip ticket.

Imagine Disney today without Star Wars or Marvel. That’s Bob Iger. I give credit where credit is due. He has consistently created a vision for long term growth while many other CEOs focus on short term stock manipulation.

I gave Bob Chapek a chance and I’m glad he’s gone. What he did wrong was not increase cost but to reduce quality and use Data to make creative decisions. Bob Iger continues to empower creatives to take the lead and not Bean counters.

- Long Term small fry Disney Investor

 

[New Mouse]

He has an ego as all mega corp CEOs do but he is intelligent enough to show Cast members how much they are valued.

If there's one thing Iger has been known for during his tenure it's that everyone is expendable. He does not care about the cast in the slightest.

 

[BayTower2010]

If there's one thing Iger has been known for during his tenure it's that everyone is expendable. He does not care about the cast in the slightest.

Well not quite, everyone is expendable but Bob--LOL.