According to the New York Times, less than two months after stepping down and handing over the reins of The Walt Disney Company to Bob Chapek, former CEO Bob Iger has stepped back in to some of those duties.
That article says that, “Mr. Iger has effectively returned to running the company. After a few weeks of letting Mr. Chapek take charge, Mr. Iger smoothly reasserted control, BlueJeans video call by Blue Jeans video call.”
Iger said in an email:
“A crisis of this magnitude, and its impact on Disney, would necessarily result in my actively helping Bob [Chapek] and the company contend with it, particularly since I ran the company for 15 years!”
The article goes on to say that Iger is focused on what the company will look like post-crisis, saying that it will be a deeply changed Disney “with fewer employees, leading the new and uncertain business of how to gather people safely for entertainment.”
Iger has asked his leaders to “look across the business and permanently change how it operates,” implementing cost-cutting measures and operating with fewer employees.
The Times also speculates that, while the board would take the “extraordinary circumstances would be taken into consideration” when evaluating Chapek, he has two unpredictable years ahead of him and two executives that didn’t get the job, Kevin Mayer and Peter Rice, waiting in the wings. Mayer is in charge of the direct-to-consumer division, while Rice is chairman of Walt Disney Television.
Finally, The Times wonders “when – or whether – Mr. Iger will have another moment to leave on top.”
Source: The New York Times
Image: Disney
