Disney CEO Bob Iger, who steered the company through successful purchases of Star Wars, Marvel and Fox's entertainment businesses, is stepping down immediately, the company said in a surprise announcement Tuesday.
The Walt Disney Co. named as his replacement Bob Chapek, most recently chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
Iger will remain executive chairman through the end of his contract Dec. 31, 2021.
Iger said it was an "optimal time" for him to step down following Disney's acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets and the launch of Disney Plus streaming service in November.
"Did not see this coming — Wowza," tweeted LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield.
Iger became chief executive of the home of Mickey Mouse in 2005 after a shareholder revolt by Roy E. Disney led to the ouster of longtime chief Michael Eisner. Iger steered Disney through successful acquisitions of Lucasfilms, Marvel, Pixar and other brands that became big moneymakers for Disney.
He was the No. 2 highest paid CEO in 2018, as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive data firm. He earned $65.6 million. The top earner was Discovery's David Zaslav who earned $129.5 million.
Susan Arnold, the independent lead director of the Disney board said succession planning had been ongoing for several years.
Chapek is only the seventh CEO in Disney history.
Chapek was head of the parks, experiences and products division since it was created in 2018. Before that, he was chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts since 2015. Before that, he was president of the Disney Consumer Products segment from 2011 to 2015.
Fresh off his unanimous appointment as interim CEO, Dax Dasilva shares his strategy for Lightspeed and why growth and profitability are his biggest focus.
Eddie Ghabour, co-founder and owner of KEY Advisors Wealth Management, explains why he’s investing in India, what could happen if inflation rises again, and the long-term ‘debt bubble’ looming.
The company behind Squishmallows says Build-A-Bear's new Skoosherz toys are a copy of their own plushies. Build-A-Bear filed their own suit basically responding, "No they're not!"
While tech employees worry about artificial intelligence taking over their jobs, Microsoft says Iran, North Korea, and more U.S. adversaries are beginning to use AI in cyber spying.
The self-proclaimed "only Post who worked at Kellogg" was a military veteran who fought in World War II before inventing everyone’s favorite fruit-filled breakfast ravioli.
Kevin Gordon, Senior Investment Research Manager at Charles Schwab, shares his thoughts on how investors can take advantage of the current bull market while keeping in mind the impacts of Fed policy and inflation.
Lab-created diamonds come with sparkling claims: that they are ethically made by machines running on renewable energy. But many don't live up to these claims or don't respond to questions about their electricity sources, and lab diamonds require a lot of electricity.
