Bob Iger Returns/Disney CEO Thread (2022)

[HandsomePete]

Sure, I get it, it makes sense on paper, it's a smart business move etc etc but at the end of the day, a big part of the reason why those parks are successful is because people love the movies and shows. A successful entertainment operation is what feeds the parks, consumer products, games, etc.

A substantial portion of the foundation of each park - despite the direction of the last 10-15 years - is non-movie/TV show IP.

Josh was SVP of Resorts + VP of Animal Kingdom, plus the commercial org at WDW actually made sense when he was in charge of it. While I think there was one external candidate who had a better resume, it’s the best anyone on the parks side could have realistically hoped for.

 

[TheUniC6]

My main concern is on who they pick for the parks.

DSNY newscast floated a list of people who he speculated might take over the parks division. They included:
Michael Moriarty (EVP & CFO Disney Experiences)
Ken Potrock (President, Major events integration)
Thomas Mazloum (President, DLR)
Natacha Rafalski (President DLPR)

 

[Lexandra]

DSNY newscast floated a list of people who he speculated might take over the parks division. They included:
Michael Moriarty (EVP & CFO Disney Experiences)
Ken Potrock (President, Major events integration)
Thomas Mazloum (President, DLR)
Natacha Rafalski (President DLPR)

I can't help but think DSNY forgot a big one: that being Jeff Vahle.

 

[HandsomePete]

Bring back Catherine Powell

 

[TheUniC6]

I don't know where else to put this, but here it is, Bob Iger is officially a Disney legend:

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger Headlines 2026 Disney Legend Class at D23 Expo

Disney D23 has announced that former Disney CEO Bob Iger will be headlining the 2026 Disney Legends class at this year's D23 Expo

blogmickey.com

 

[belloq87]

Sounds like the contents of this book could be pretty unflattering!

Disney Reportedly Begins Fighting Back Against Upcoming Unauthorized Bob Iger Biography

A new report says that The Walt Disney Company has hired a high-profile lawyer to fight back against an unauthorized Bob Iger biography

blogmickey.com

I wasn't really an online presence at the time, but did Disney mount any pushback to either DISNEYWAR or KEYS TO THE KINGDOM?

 

[Jake S]

Sounds like the contents of this book could be pretty unflattering!

No honest telling of any CEO in the United States of America could possibly be flattering. Even the use of the word "unauthorized" on any book, movie or documentary that isn't 100 percent hagiographic is, ah, telling of the power dynamics at play.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Sounds like the contents of this book could be pretty unflattering!

Disney Reportedly Begins Fighting Back Against Upcoming Unauthorized Bob Iger Biography

A new report says that The Walt Disney Company has hired a high-profile lawyer to fight back against an unauthorized Bob Iger biography

blogmickey.com

I wasn't really an online presence at the time, but did Disney mount any pushback to either DISNEYWAR or KEYS TO THE KINGDOM?

Now I want to read it more

Thanks for Disney, this was not on my Radar...and is a must read

 

[deadbydawn]

Sounds like the contents of this book could be pretty unflattering!

Disney Reportedly Begins Fighting Back Against Upcoming Unauthorized Bob Iger Biography

A new report says that The Walt Disney Company has hired a high-profile lawyer to fight back against an unauthorized Bob Iger biography

blogmickey.com

I wasn't really an online presence at the time, but did Disney mount any pushback to either DISNEYWAR or KEYS TO THE KINGDOM?

I'm not sure about Keys to the Kingdom, but there was pushback for DisneyWar. They tried to get in front of it by disputing some of the claims made in the book, and saying that the sources were dubious, etc. At the time through, James B. Stewart was a topical and very well respected journalist, so the public (and more importantly for the book, the media) would be inclined to believe his side of the story. In the afterword of the book, Stewart mentions that Eisner was very unhappy with him and vowed to never speak to him again.

I think DisneyWar is required reading for anyone who is a fan of the Walt Disney Company in any way. The fact that Stewart was given the access he was, the stories he was able to tell, and the way he makes the reader feel like you too, are in the room will never be replicated. It's truly a page turner.

This Iger book sounds interesting and I think most of us have wanted to know what was going on internally over there the last handful of years. A famous person protecting their image and fighting back against an unauthorized biography isn't exactly groundbreaking news (or unwarranted honestly), but I hope that this book is more akin to something like DisneyWar and less just "Iger bad".

 

[Fedic]

A new "tell all" book from Bob Chapek was announced yesterday. I wonder if he'll go scorched-Earth or it'll just be standard fluff stories? I just hope Don Yaeger is a better writer than Chapek was a CEO.

Ousted Disney CEO Bob Chapek Writing Tell-All Memoir

The exec is planning a memoir, 'Behind the Castle Walls,' which will be released in September and address his tenure at the company and Bob Iger's return.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Jerroddragon]

I'm interested in this book if he can tell some of the truth

Like just fill in the gaps to what went wrong

 

[belloq87]

As much as I despised Chapek in his Parks and CEO positions... I would absolutely love it if he ruthlessly destroys Iger to the best of his ability.

 

[Freak]

A new "tell all" book from Bob Chapek was announced yesterday. I wonder if he'll go scorched-Earth or it'll just be standard fluff stories? I just hope Don Yaeger is a better writer than Chapek was a CEO.

Ousted Disney CEO Bob Chapek Writing Tell-All Memoir

The exec is planning a memoir, 'Behind the Castle Walls,' which will be released in September and address his tenure at the company and Bob Iger's return.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

You know what....I'm really curious to know how Chapek is going to spill the tea here. I would read it.

 

[Mad Dog]

A new "tell all" book from Bob Chapek was announced yesterday. I wonder if he'll go scorched-Earth or it'll just be standard fluff stories? I just hope Don Yaeger is a better writer than Chapek was a CEO.

Ousted Disney CEO Bob Chapek Writing Tell-All Memoir

The exec is planning a memoir, 'Behind the Castle Walls,' which will be released in September and address his tenure at the company and Bob Iger's return.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Betting it'll be scorched earth. ....But I'll still dislike Chapek. He was bad for the theme park industry, even though I'm sure Iger was behind some of the bad stuff too.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Betting it'll be scorched earth. ....But I'll still dislike Chapek. He was bad for the theme park industry, even though I'm sure Iger was behind some of the bad stuff too.

This last part....like Bob trained him and not saying its all Iger's fault but like for sure Iger gave him some ideas that he wanted Chapek to try and when they failed was like..."ohh I can come back and fix this"

 

[Fedic]

A new "tell all" book from Bob Chapek was announced yesterday. I wonder if he'll go scorched-Earth or it'll just be standard fluff stories?

Quoting myself, it looks like scorched-Earth (against Iger) is the direction Chapek chose with his book:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/business/media/disney-bob-chapek-bob-iger.html

He seems delusional with this quote, though:

“My abrupt dismissal hurt my reputation, leaving those close to me, outsiders and some within the kingdom trying to figure out what I did wrong,” Mr. Chapek writes. “The answer, again, is nothing.”

Sure, Bob. Everything was going great.

 

[Jake S]

Listen, I've got plenty of time for criticism of Bob Iger but reading that article left me feeling the exact same way about Bob Chapek as I did 30 minutes ago:

 

[Mad Dog]

Quoting myself, it looks like scorched-Earth (against Iger) is the direction Chapek chose with his book:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/business/media/disney-bob-chapek-bob-iger.html

He seems delusional with this quote, though:

“My abrupt dismissal hurt my reputation, leaving those close to me, outsiders and some within the kingdom trying to figure out what I did wrong,” Mr. Chapek writes. “The answer, again, is nothing.”

Sure, Bob. Everything was going great.

No fan of Iger or Chapek....but I laugh at Chapek's complaint , "My abrupt dismissal hurt my reputation"...heh guy....your actions destroyed your reputation far before you were fired. Another comment of his tells you everything you need to know about his guest be damned policies. He bragged about increasing profits by cutting back on long time guest amenities.......Chapek was a detriment to Disney customers.
He is a man without a clue. His mind is his own personal Fantasy Land.

 

[SkiBum]

No fan of Iger or Chapek....but I laugh at Chapek's complaint , "My abrupt dismissal hurt my reputation"...heh guy....your actions destroyed your reputation far before you were fired. Another comment of his tells you everything you need to know about his guest be damned policies. He bragged about increasing profits by cutting back on long time guest amenities.......Chapek was a detriment to Disney customers.
He is a man without a clue. His mind is his own personal Fantasy Land.

He is simply the normal CEO. Most CEO's will never accept blame for their decisions but will instead defer it (aka: Stuff flows downhill). Many of us have dulled our knives on Iger just as much for decisions that have occurred in his time as CEO. I just don't get why Big C made a book. It would only come across as whining or blaming others and does nothing to show how he improved or worked his way up. Plus, when anyone writes a book where they blame others, the majority of readers will end up being skeptical of the validity of what they just read.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Chapek was a decent CEO for a large corporation.

Chapek was not the best choice for CEO of Disney.

Eisner (with Wells) was a near-perfect CEO for Disney. Then he lost it after Wells, and focused on costs. Then came Iger and corrected Eisner’s mistakes. But then Iger lost his focus with Fox and focusing too much on Disney+, but was still looking ahead and thankfully pushed for Epcot reimagining (pre-Covid plans), Tron, etc.

And then Chapek came and ran the company from a maximizing every penny point of view versus letting the product speak for itself. Rather than chase expansions, revenue was expanded through fees, price hikes and cost savings. An unnatural way to do business for a creative company like Disney. The parks are designed for the masses, not a few folks.

Thankfully, people realized that long-term those cuts would start to hurt the bottom line and they made the right choice with D’maro.