Bob Iger Steps Down as CEO, Chapek to Succeed Iger as CEO

[clarker99]

The one thing you can say about Eisner though is that he took risks, and the risks he took brought it back from the brink. Sure he had some major flops, but during his time we also had a major push of expansion in the parks. I mean 3 Domestic parks during his time and Euro Disney plus a large hand in Hong Kong Disney with Iger. Thats not to mention the acquisition of ABC or ESPN. I do understand each of these parks opened with some of there own issues, but over all he took risks. We need to see if Bob Capek will be a risk taker and innovator or just live off the legacy Iger built. I want to see the company expanding and being innovative to increase profit and dividends to the shareholders and not get stuck in a holding pattern of just cutting cost and small tweaks to maximize the profits streams that are already there. Hopefully we see some risk taking from Capek and not more of the bean counting he has been en charge of rolling out in the parks division.

Eisner bringing the studio side back from the dead in the late 80's and early 90's should be the crown jewel of his reign. The nostalgia Disney preys on from Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Lion King alone has made them billions.

 

[Krandor]

Eisner bringing the studio side back from the dead in the late 80's and early 90's should be the crown jewel of his reign. The nostalgia Disney preys on from Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Lion King alone has made them billions.

Absolutely. Little Mermaid and Beeauty and the Beast was a major turning point for disney. The animation for its times was just amazing and set a new standard.

 

[mshanson3121]

It's not NOT true, either, though. The board and officers have a fiduciary obligation to the owners of the company, i.e., the shareholders whose property they administer. This does not always mean maximizing value, but a decision knowingly taken that reduces value would certainly raise eyebrows among larger investors. No one wants a derivative suit.

No one is saying to make decisions that would reduce value. What the poster is saying is that Disney could easily hold back some on the price increases and cutbacks, and their shareholders would STILL be making plenty.

 

[Alicefan]

Potter barely made a dent in WDW overall. A new park likely will make another small dent but I am not sure Disney needs to respond in a huge way. Continual progression is what Disney should do. The Epcot overhaul will be mostly completed by the time Epic Universe opens.

You certainly wouldn't be able to tell based on how desperately WDW seems to have scrambled to dredge something up to compete with HP. By all appearances , HP put the fear of God into them and IMO they STILL haven't found the IP to fill the shoes of HP.

 

[Alicefan]

Disney doesn’t really see Universal as competition enough to counter heavily these days. That park needs to be a huge game changer for it to really impact Disney enough to hurt. We won’t get more than a natural progression of what we’ve been getting.

The market is vastly different than when Eisner was countering Universal, SeaWorld, and Busch.

How can you say that though when Disney has bought up every IP they can get their hands on trying to compete ever since HP opened? It's so obvious that they can't STAND Universal getting so much (well deserved) attention for knocking this one out of the parks. I'm surprised Disney didn't try to put in a Twilight land. lol

 

[rteetz]

You certainly wouldn't be able to tell based on how desperately WDW seems to have scrambled to dredge something up to compete with HP. By all appearances , HP put the fear of God into them and IMO they STILL haven't found the IP to fill the shoes of HP.

Which is a good thing for us consumers.

 

[Alynw]

Suddenly announcing your CEO is immediately stepping down and being replaced is shocking news, and considering how popular Iger has been I can’t imagine Disney expected much of a positive reaction. The sudden nature of his stepping down seems to be what is setting most people off, since Chapek did seem to be the obvious (though unpopular) choice. I’m sure the negative rhetoric and speculation is only just beginning. Hopefully we learn more concrete facts soon

This is not sudden. This is something that has been strategically planned and was put in motion months ago. Sure, it might seem sudden to the public as it just got released but Disney nor any other major Corp is going to release their personal business plans until their ready but that doesn't mean this hasn't been thoroughly discussed and well planned prior to going public. Obviously we wont ever know how long ago this decision was made, in my experience I'd say the decision was decided 6 months ago and Iger and Chapek have been working together now for months toward a smooth transition.

 

[OKW Lover]

What the poster is saying is that Disney could easily hold back some on the price increases and cutbacks, and their shareholders would STILL be making plenty.

Its up to the shareholder to decide if they are making plenty. If they think they are not, they sell and the stock price goes down.

 

[Remy is Up]

You certainly wouldn't be able to tell based on how desperately WDW seems to have scrambled to dredge something up to compete with HP. By all appearances , HP put the fear of God into them and IMO they STILL haven't found the IP to fill the shoes of HP.

Universal HAS to make splashes. WDW can afford to move at their own pace and do things methodically. They are making a ton of money, parks are packed, etc. Uni hasnt effected Disney in any way other than to remind them there is a little nat flying around them. HP is a decent land, very small, very crowded ( the same complaint people have about Disney), Short hours ( Wait I thought only Disney had short hours closing at 8 or 9???) and an express pass you pay the price of a second ticket to use. Outside of HP they have a bunch of rides on screens , a few coasters, and some water rides. From a Coaster perspective they are decent but I can drive down the road to Sea World or BG Tampa and ride coasters that are 100 times better. Uni can pretend its a competitor to WDW to make themselves feel better, but, they arent even in the same world when it comes to competing with WDW on an every aspect level. They have 1 land that is cool and outside of that...ehh. The only people WDW competes with is themselves. They may react to Uni now and then, but, they arent competing with them. Different audience, different demographic. And WDW is doing what they do and doing it the way they want to do it. Now lets see what Chapek does to move the park vision forward.

 

[Moliphino]

You certainly wouldn't be able to tell based on how desperately WDW seems to have scrambled to dredge something up to compete with HP. By all appearances , HP put the fear of God into them and IMO they STILL haven't found the IP to fill the shoes of HP.

If only they could use Marvel in WDW.

 

[Q-man]

This is not sudden. This is something that has been strategically planned and was put in motion months ago. Sure, it might seem sudden to the public as it just got released but Disney nor any other major Corp is going to release their personal business plans until their ready but that doesn't mean this hasn't been thoroughly discussed and well planned prior to going public. Obviously we wont ever know how long ago this decision was made, in my experience I'd say the decision was decided 6 months ago and Iger and Chapek have been working together now for months toward a smooth transition.

Wall St disagrees. Companies of Disney's magnitude normally announce transitions like this months ahead of time.

 

[RivShore]

How do these facts reconcile with so many saying the Bobs have not invested in the parks???

There is one telling nugget from Iger’s book that could be seen as presaging today’s turn of events. Passing over all his transformative dealmaking — buying Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and then the big one, Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox — Iger instead highlights opening Disney’s Shanghai park as one of the defining moments of his career. Chapek played a big role in that. Chapek “oversaw the largest capital expansion in the history of our parks,” Iger said Tuesday, highlighting the Shanghai opening, as well as the “Star Wars” Galaxy Edge attraction at its U.S. parks and the company’s large fleet of cruise ships. Iger added that he and the board had identified Chapek as his likely successor “quite some time ago.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disneys-big-secret-finally-233431387.html

 

[lugnut33]

Baby Yoda.

Kuiil > Baby Yoda

 

[BrianL]

How do these facts reconcile with so many saying the Bobs have not invested in the parks???

Clearly the Bobs have invested heavily in the parks - I think just not in the areas where many people wanted them to. Everyone has an opinion on how the parks should be kept and the money should be spent. To me, the expansions have been wonderful.

 

[BrianL]

Kuiil > Baby Yoda

"I have spoken."

 

[The Pho]

How can you say that though when Disney has bought up every IP they can get their hands on trying to compete ever since HP opened? It's so obvious that they can't STAND Universal getting so much (well deserved) attention for knocking this one out of the parks. I'm surprised Disney didn't try to put in a Twilight land. lol

Because Disney sees themselves as the untouchable market leader, whether that’s right or not.
The major IP purchases post Harry Potter were Lucasfilm and Fox. But it’s hard to credit either of those purchases to the Orlando Theme Park market.

Personally I’m really hoping that Epic Universe can be a game changer. The industry needs to keep pushing itself. By the time it opens Orlando’s parks are going to be very different. All three of the major players are investing like crazy right now and it’s a great time for us.

 

[Brianstl]

Because Disney sees themselves as the untouchable market leader, whether that’s right or not.
The major IP purchases post Harry Potter were Lucasfilm and Fox. But it’s hard to credit either of those purchases to the Orlando Theme Park market.

Personally I’m really hoping that Epic Universe can be a game changer. The industry needs to keep pushing itself. By the time it opens Orlando’s parks are going to be very different. All three of the major players are investing like crazy right now and it’s a great time for us.

An article I was reading yesterday was saying Epic Universe will be on par or better than DisneySea. I will believe that when I see it. That said, what has been released so far makes it appear that this is going to be on a different level than anything built in the US since at least Epcot.

 

[rteetz]

https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt...ments-on-new-leader-for-parks-and-resorts.htm

 

[BrianL]

An article I was reading yesterday was saying Epic Universe will be on par or better than DisneySea. I will believe that when I see it. That said, what has been released so far makes it appear that this is going to be on a different level than anything built in the US since at least Epcot.

I heard that! DisneySea is so spectacular - one can only hope they can even come close to that level.

 

[Farro]

Eisner bringing the studio side back from the dead in the late 80's and early 90's should be the crown jewel of his reign. The nostalgia Disney preys on from Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Lion King alone has made them billions.

Absolutely. Little Mermaid and Beeauty and the Beast was a major turning point for disney. The animation for its times was just amazing and set a new standard.

If you haven't already, watch Waking Sleeping Beauty. Amazing documentary discussing this very topic.