‘We Just Have to Make Sure It Doesn’t Happen Again’ — Disney CEO Bob Iger Comments on His Successor

Disney recently held its Annual Shareholder Meeting on April 3rd, 2024.

During the meeting, Disney won its proxy battle against Nelson Peltz, as well as revealed a few details about what a potential Disneyland expansion might look like. After the shareholder meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger sat down with an interview with CNBC and talked about his successor.

Bob Iger is the current CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and it has already been announced that he will be stepping down in 2026. The current Board of Directors is focused on the succession process and ensuring it goes smoothly at the end of 2026.

During the CNBC interview, Iger spoke about what went wrong with his previous successor, Bob Chapek. “One of the things that hasn’t been understood is what happened to the company during the pandemic,” Iger said. “People weren’t going to the movies, people weren’t going to theme parks, live sports weren’t happening, new movies and TV shows weren’t being produced.”

Then he talked about what he hopes for in looking ahead for his new successor. Iger said, “Hopefully next time around those things won’t be happening.”

He also commented, “We’ve learned from the past,” but wouldn’t answer any questions asking him to expand upon that.

Iger later added, “We’re focused on the future not the past. We can’t do anything about what happened, we just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

We have previously gotten hints into who is being considered as Iger’s successor. In an interview earlier this week, current Disney Board member, Carolyn Everson, stated that a smooth succession process is the number one priority of the Board. They are completely focused on the transition. Bob Iger has already begun looking at potential internal candidates, and the Board is also looking at potential external candidates.

Disney has been focusing on four divisional heads as potential candidates for the job. These candidates include Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment; Josh D’Amaro, Disney Parks chair; Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN; and Alan Bergman, the other co-chair of Disney Entertainment.

Carolyn Everson also mentioned there is a lot of talent and expertise on the Board of Directors to make this a successful transition. There has been criticism of the previous succession between Bob Iger and Bob Chapek that concluded with Bob Iger reclaiming his role as CEO.

Bob Iger had hand-picked Bob Chapek as his successor but has since said that picking Bob Chapek was a mistake.  Bob Iger is now once again tasked with choosing and training his successor.

A Succession Planning Committee of the Board has already been formed and has been meeting regularly to prepare for the succession. However, no decision on a successor is expected to be made this year.

Be sure to stay tuned to AllEars as we bring you all the news from The Walt Disney Company’s Annual Shareholder meeting!

Check out what Carolyn Everson, a current Disney Board member, had to say about the succession process prior to the Annual Meeting!

What are your thoughts on these successor comments? Let us know in the comments!