Bob Iger has officially risen out of retirement to regain executive control over The Walt Disney Company as its CEO after a two-year respite. Bob Chapek, who had occupied the chair during the time, has been pushed back after heated and continual backlash from the fans, investors, and heads of Disney’s own subsidiaries after the now-former CEO failed to deliver on multiple accounts and led the company into a controversial era that was focused more on quantity over quality.
With Bob Iger set to take Disney toward a more restorative direction, the world looks positively hopeful for the future of the company as well as its content production.
The Controversial Leadership of Bob Chapek at Disney
For the past two years, Disney has presented a radically different outlook with allegations of turning up its onscreen “woke” representations which were further enforced by a higher percentage of LGBTQ+ portrayals in films and series that faced subsequential bans in countries in the Middle East. However, when asked about the alleged upscaling of “wokeness” in content production, Bob Chapek claimed, “I think Disney is a company that has survived over a hundred years by catering to its audience and it’s going to thrive the next 100 years by catering to its audience.” Even then, Chapek was called out by his own employees and human rights activists last March for his reluctance to immediately condemn a controversial Florida bill, a move which was viewed by most as anti-LGBT.
Under the leadership of Bob Chapek, The Walt Disney Company became more experimental in its output, and coupled with the pandemic era halt in production, content began to flood the platform as soon as the post-production crew began filtering into their workspaces. However, the intensity of content, especially when it comes to productions from large franchises like Marvel and Star Wars began frustrating its audience who soon started projecting emotions of exhaustion from their respective franchises.
After some heavily scrutinized controversial statements from Chapek recently, Disney’s image further began to falter as investors began questioning the man at the helm’s decision-making capacity. Last month, Chapek had infamously said while speaking at the Wall Street Journal Tech Live on October 26, 2022 —
“Our fans and audiences put their kids to bed at night after watching Pinocchio, Dumbo, or Little Mermaid, then they’re probably not going to tune in to another animated movie, they want something for them.”
The comment not only sparked outrage among the Disney fanbase but called into doubt Chapek’s understanding of his own consumer base. Further confusion was created by his strategies of merging consumer data from its streaming platform and the rides that visitors prefer at their globally established theme parks to provide a more unified and customized experience.
Bob Iger Shows Promise as the Prodigal CEO Returns
During Bob Iger‘s tenure at Disney, the company went on to amass a proprietary hold over some of the largest franchises in the constantly expanding Hollywood. With its acquisition of Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and 20th Century Fox, Iger had already proved his savvy skills at the business-minded expansion of the company while also ensuring to churn out a steady and increasing profit. Under Iger’s leadership, Disney further expanded its accessibility by investing in the direct-to-consumer platforms — Disney+ and Hulu. Disney’s market cap, under the prodigal CEO’s care, increased from $48 billion to $257 billion in the period of 15 years.
Also read: Bob Iger “Retakes” Disney CEO Role During Crisis
Bob Iger’s stay at Disney has been one of the most inspirational, if not the most revolutionary period of a multi-billion dollar company’s transition into the modern century. The President-turned-CEO of The Walt Disney Company had taken over control in 2005 and radically transformed the structure of the house of the mouse until his tenure ended in 2020. Under his leadership, Disney not only witnessed a complete reorientation of business ventures but also added broad brushstrokes of IPs and achieved stratospheric success in its endeavors.
As the predecessor and successor of Bob Chapek, Iger’s return has been hailed and applauded since it could return Disney to its steadfastly reputed production line, overcoming the interim period marked heavily by change, experimentation, and controversies.
Source: Variety
