This Sunday, November 20, a good part of the Disney leaders had settled in the best places in the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to attend the concert of Elton John sponsored and broadcast by Disney +. Suddenly appears on their mobile the email of an old acquaintance, the old CEO Bob Iger. This one tells them his joy to return to the head of the company. This is how business sometimes happens in the country of blue dream, in precipitation and brutality.
Based on their emotions, many executives of the company seem satisfied to see their former boss come back to the orders for fifteen years, crowned with the unprecedented explosion of the cinematographic offer of the world media leader, with acquisitions Pixar, Marvel or Fox studios, as well as the internet offensive with the Disney +service. And incidentally multiplication by 5 of the stock market course.
His successor, Bob Chapek, who arrived in early 2020, had largely worked to be hated by his teams, Hollywood stars, his board of directors and investors. Veteran of marketing and derivative products, he did not like cinema and creatives much, abruptly dismissed thousands of employees during the health crisis and had to recognize a colossal loss of the consumer division which hosts Disney +.
talent to make enemies
But all of this is only half of the story. First of all because it was the first Bob (Iger) who chose the second (Chapek). Then because the latter’s contract was renewed barely five months ago by the board of directors, saying that he was the right man in the right place. He now shows her the door as if he discovered the situation. Finally, we learn from the Financial Times of November 24 that Bob Iger, who spread everywhere from the happiness of his new life, had not cut the link.
He had remained “advisor” for the company and paid for that nearly $ 2 million per year (1.91 million euros). An investment that was not very profitable for the company since the former boss quickly complained of not being listened to from the new, more in a hurry to kill the father than to follow his recommendations, in particular by centralizing at the extreme decision -making, including those of creatives.
Bob Chapek was definitely talented to make enemies. Curious that neither the former CEO nor the current board of directors realized before. This reveals defective governance as the activist investors love. Like the vultures of cartoons from the firm, they landed at the entrance to the council, demanding the sale of entire divisions to bring the stock market to go up.
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