Robert A. Iger has extended his tenure at Disney until 2026 amid continued difficulties in finding a successor and growing doubts about the viability of the company’s vaunted movie studios and theme parks.
The Walt Disney Company said Wednesday that Iger, 72, will remain chief executive for two years after his previously announced retirement date, the company’s board said. Iger reluctantly ended his first term at Disney in 2021, handing over the company’s top job to former theme park executive Bob Chapek. Mr. Chapek was fired in November and Mr. Iger returned as chief executive.
Disney said at the time that Iger was asked to return “to set strategic direction for new growth and work closely with the board to develop a successor to lead the company at the end of his term.” Stated. Iger has repeatedly said he will retire permanently when his contract expires at the end of 2024.
“My plan is to stay here for two years,” Iger told CNBC in November. “That’s the agreement with the board and that’s my preference.”
Many people at Disney and Hollywood were skeptical. Mr. Iger delayed his retirement at least three times during his first tenure as chief executive from 2005 to 2020. (He continued as Disney’s executive chairman for a year after stepping down as his chief executive.)
In the eight months since Iger returned to Disney, he has swiftly cut costs of about $5.5 billion, including cutting 7,000 jobs, including those at Pixar and ESPN, pushing Disney’s streaming business back into the black. . He also won a proxy battle with an activist investor, partly because of Disney’s poor track record in succession planning. However, his successor has not yet been decided.
Disney said its board is considering internal and external candidates. Iger brought three executives to this week’s Allen & Co. Sun Valley media conference, the annual “Billionaire’s Summer Camp,” all of whom he sees as potential successors. It is Her opponent, Alan Bergman. Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Parks Experiences and Products.
Disney’s disappointing summer box office results for “Elemental,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Fate,” and to a lesser extent, “The Little,” and new questions about its own movie studios. And so on, almost every aspect of the problem is tackled. Mermaid. Disney is also battling a prolonged writer’s strike, and negotiations for a new contract between the studio and the SAG-AFTRA, a guild representing about 160,000 actors, have stalled and could be announced as early as Thursday. may also go on strike.
Unlike many of its rival media conglomerates, Disney can rely on its theme park business for profits and growth unless a recession hits. Recently, visitors to Disney World in Florida, the company’s largest facility, to weaken significantly.
Disney shares trade at about $90, down 3% from a year ago and down 54% from their peak in March 2021.
