Bob Iger to step down as Disney CEO, effective immediately
CNBC is reporting that Bob Iger will step down as the Disney CEO, effective immediately. Here is what is being reported…
- Disney announced Tuesday that CEO Bob Iger will step down and become the executive chairman through 2021, effective immediately
- Bob Chapek, who most recently served as chairman of Disney parks, experiences and products, will assume the role of CEO.
- Iger has been instrumental in making Disney a significant player in the streaming space, ushering through the acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business and opening Shanghai Disneyland.
- He also launched Disney +, immediately making Disney a popular streaming service provider. Disney said the service had 26.5 million paying subscribers during the first quarter of 2020 after launching in November.
- Iger was also instrumental in ushering in the $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business. He also added Star Wars and Marvel movies through it’s acquisitions of Lucasfilm and Marvel Entertainment each for about $4 billion.
Iger had been planning his succession for a while, saying at Disney’s investor day last year that 2021 will be the time for me to finally step down. He will be on CNBC to discuss succession with Julia Boorstin at 5:30 EST.
