Bob Chapek

After pushing back his retirement four times, Bob Iger finally made the leap. On Feb. 25, 2020, he announced he would step down as Disney’s CEO. His hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek, then Disney’s parks chairman, would take over the day-to-day job of running the company, effective immediately. As part of the changing of the guard, the Disney board suggested the new CEO should take over Iger’s expansive office at Disney headquarters in Burbank, California. There was just one problem. Iger had no interest in moving out.

Bob Chapek, the former Disney CEO who was abruptly ousted from the company last November, is among a group of executives facing a lawsuit claiming violations of securities law for allegedly providing misleading statements and omissions about Disney+ and its subscriber growth.

The company also details severance payments due Geoff Morrell, who was fired as head of corporate affairs in April 2022.

The former Walt Disney Co. chief executive undermined and then succeeded the man he had handpicked to lead the entertainment giant.

Discussions regarding the plan were under way in the weeks leading up to Nov. 20, when Disney’s board of directors fired Bob Chapek as chief executive and replaced him with his predecessor, Robert Iger.

Iger’s successor as CEO, Bob Chapek, was fired Sunday after the company posted lower than expected earnings in the last quarter. Hollywood’s creative community had grumbled about Chapek’s cost-cutting measures and sometimes blunt approach to talent, while theme park regulars had been unhappy with price hikes. So, it’s back to Iger for the next two years.

Late Sunday, the Walt Disney Co. said Bob Chapek, who succeeded Iger in 2020, had stepped down from the CEO position. “The board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the company through this pivotal period,” board Chair Susan Arnold said in a statement from Disney.

The chief executive also says the entertainment giant would be interested in doing so ahead of its 2024 contractual deadline.

Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek is expected to address investors publicly this week for the first time since the media giant’s board of directors renewed his contract through the end of 2024. The 63-year-old is expected to outline his vision for Disney and face questions during the entertainment company’s third-quarter earnings report Wednesday afternoon about how he plans to steer the company’s streaming business.

From streaming and theme parks to sports and megadeals, the executive’s new contract gives him breathing room to put his own stamp on the company.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has gotten a new long term contract as the the board meets this week. They voted unanimously to extend his current deal, which expires in February 2023, for three years. “Disney was dealt a tough hand by the pandemic, yet with Bob at the helm, our businesses—from parks to streaming—not only weathered the storm, but emerged in a position of strength,” said Susan Arnold, chairman of the board. “In this important time of growth and transformation, the board is committed to keeping Disney on the successful path it is on today, and Bob’s leadership is key to achieving that goal. Bob is the right leader at the right time for The Walt Disney Company, and the board has full confidence in him and his leadership team,” the board said.

He has the board’s support, but Disney CEO Bob Chapek has had a rough time with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a slipping stock and concerns about Disney+. How long will he hold on?

The heiress’ move comes two decades after her father, Roy E. Disney, led a proxy fight that ousted then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

In an industry where many executives are quick to tout their own accomplishments, Peter Rice was known for turning down opportunities to take a public victory lap. The soft-spoken British executive, who was ousted on Wednesday from the top TV job at Disney, has a reputation for quietly cultivating relationships with producers and directors. On Thursday, he was formally replaced by his top lieutenant, Walt Disney Television entertainment chairman Dana Walden. By all accounts, Rice didn’t see it coming — at all. He was blindsided as he learned of his fate in what was described by a source as a conversation with Disney CEO Bob Chapek that lasted less than 10 minutes.

As many of its LGBTQ+ employees get set for a full-day walkout Tuesday, Disney has decided to postpone a management retreat set for next week as it continues efforts to calm internal waters. News of the postponement came as Disney CEO Bob Chapek conducted a town hall meeting for all employees Monday. The exec is continuing to try to put the company on more stable footing after its response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill met with fierce backlash internally and in influential pockets of the talent community. All of the company’s three major content suppliers — Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm — have been publicly critical of the company’s handling of the situation.

After being severely criticized by LGBTQ Disney and Pixar employees and supporters, and groups including GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign over his lack of response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has issued an apology to the company’s workers, and announced a “pause” in political donations in Florida.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Wednesday the company is pledging $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations protecting LGBTQ rights following backlash to the company’s initial quiet response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, as well as a report that the company has given money to all of the bill’s sponsors. Chapek, who is taking his first public stance against the bill, says he will also be meeting with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss Disney’s “concerns” over the legislation.

In the wake of controversy over Disney’s quiet response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, as well as a report that the company has given money to all of the bill’s sponsors, CEO Bob Chapek expressed Disney’s “unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ+ community” in a company-wide email.

Bob Chapek earned $32.5 million in compensation for Disney’s fiscal 2021 year, more than double the $14 million he pulled in during 2020, which was heavily depreciated due to the first year of the pandemic. The pay results were disclosed in an SEC filing on Wednesday.

Bob Chapek, who is nearing the two-year mark since he took the baton as CEO for the Walt Disney Co., has articulated three key strategic priorities for the company in a memo to employees. Referring to them as “pillars,” Chapek identifies the three areas as storytelling, innovation and a “relentless focus on our audience.”

Disney disclosed the total compensation for its top executives in a year that saw the company hit hard by the pandemic right after Bob Chapek took over as CEO.

When Walt Disney Co. announced that it had closed more than 20 foreign TV channels last week, Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek looked like he was taking the knife to a big chunk of the company’s international audience. The move would have been unthinkable a few years ago. But Chapek — less than six months after succeeding longtime CEO Bob Iger — is using the COVID-19 crisis to transform Disney much faster than expected, all with an eye toward making the company an online juggernaut that reaches far more people worldwide.

In a surprise announcement Tuesday afternoon, Walt Disney Co. said longtime CEO Bob Iger was stepping down immediately, to be succeeded by Bob Chapek, most recently chairman of Disney’s parks, experiences and products business. Iger will remain executive chairman through the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021. Besides leading the board, Iger said he will spend more time on Disney’s creative endeavors.