Bob Iger Announces Major Move Away From Chapek-Era Disney

When Bob Chapek became CEO of The Walt Disney Company, he immediately began consolidating power. He also started to put his hands in all the cookie jars, which is necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely had an impact on the company. One most notable thing is that Chapek seemed to put people in charge not because they were qualified for the job, but because they supported him. While it didn’t make the company tank, things certainly didn’t look the same, which had a big impact on how people viewed Disney and its quality.

One of the biggest issues within Disney was that CEO Bob Chapek consolidated power in the creative department. In fact, creatives lost almost all the power they had before Chapek took the reins. However, that is about to change in a big way.

On February 8, The Walt Disney Company held its first quarter earnings call for the 2023 fiscal year. A lot of things were discussed — including massive layoffs –, and one of the biggest announcements was that now Disney CEO Bob Iger would be giving creative power back to the creatives. The Disney CEO was always known for relying heavily on the talent of Disney creatives, and Mr. Iger is doubling down on that creativity now.

During the earnings call, Mr. Iger said that creative power was going back to the creatives in nearly every way. Disney animators and creatives will be responsible for the stories that Disney tells, as we as how those stories are marketed. They will be given all the credit for the film’s success, but they will also be responsible if a film fails to perform. However, knowing how much talent The Walt Disney Company has in its arsenal, failure is unlikely.

There are more than a dozen untitled Disney projects on the slate — including one coming out at the end of this year — so we know that Disney’s amazing storytellers are hard at work on bringing Guests and fans unforgettable stories, accompanied by unforgettable songs.