The man behind the notorious Disney+ streaming service, Bob Iger, suddenly announced that he is stepping down effective immediately from the Walt Disney company as CEO.
While it came as a surprise to us, we really shouldn’t be. Bob Iger’s contract as CEO was originally supposed to end in 2018, however it was extended because there was some difficulty in finding a successor for the company. It was truly only a matter of time.
Bob Chapek will be succeeding Bob Iger effective immediately. Chapek just recently served as chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
On Chapek taking on the CEO role, Iger said: “I have the utmost confidence in Bob and look forward to working closely with him over the next 22 months as he assumes this new role and delves deeper into Disney’s multifaceted global businesses and operations, while I continue to focus on the company’s creative endeavors.”
Bob Iger became Disney’s CEO in 2005 and it can be said that he has done a lot for the Walt Disney company. It is crazy to think how much Disney has changed since Bob Iger took over. Iger went straight to work and acquired the company, Pixar, that gave us Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Up, and so on.
Before Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, the two companies were business partners as Pixar would finance and produce the films and Disney would market and distribute them. Right before the acquisition, Pixar was looking for a new company to distribute their films because their relationship with Disney was on the rocks.
Iger, however, stepped in and thought it was best to align themselves with the animation studio forever. Imagine having to see Finding Dory being distributed by Warner Bros. or Sony… I know. Weird.
Bob Iger would later, famously, acquire Marvel Studios in 2009. Iger and company were able to grow the Marvel brand to what it never was and make it a household name with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Just 3 years after that, George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, would sit down with Bob Iger and sell off the rights to his company; Lucasfilm. While the Star Wars IP under Disney has not been so well received from the fans of the franchise, the newly released films have grossed over eight billion dollars altogether. Disney gave George Lucas a check of about four billion dollars so it’s safe to say that Disney has made their money back.
More recently, in one of the biggest mergers in history, Disney acquired 20th Century Fox Studios and along came The Simpsons franchise! Not to mention that Marvel Studios now has the rights to use the X-Men and Fantastic Four again on screen. It’s only a matter of time before we see Wolverine on the big screen again.
To add to Bob Iger’s successes, Disney was able to successfully launch their own streaming service, Disney+. Everything from the infamous “Disney Vault” was released onto the streaming platform, which was a first for the company.
Whether people were signing up for nostalgia of old Disney animated films, The Mandalorian, or upcoming Marvel shows, Disney+ was able to garner up to about 30 million users. Not to mention that Disney+ is currently unavailable in most of the world. Their success is surely to continue.
Chapek will be running the company day-to-day and still report to Iger until December 31, 2021. Iger is currently serving as executive chairman and will officially retire on December 31, 2021. Bob Iger’s legacy will surely not be forgotten anytime soon.
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