Ever since Disney CEO Bob Iger returned to the helm of the Walt Disney Company, he’s made a concentrated effort to bring the company back on track. During former CEO Bob Chapek’s tenure, Disney’s stock practically collapsed (though it’s important to acknowledge the effect of the global COVID-19 pandemic on this), and the Walt Disney Company made an enemy of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. All things considered, perhaps not the most successful of tenures.
Disney CEO Bob Iger Returns
When Bob Iger returned in November 2022, he made it abundantly clear through his actions and his words that a massive clean-up was in order, and the Walt Disney Company CEO delivered. In February of this year, he announced significant and large-scale 7000-person layoffs, including some of the company’s biggest names, including the C-suite.
Some of the biggest headlines that have crossed news outlets during his return stint as CEO have been those about Disney’s battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The battle has become a bitter feud escalating to lawsuits with both sides trying to outwit each other.
While the Walt Disney Company and various high-level executives, including Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro, and Disney CEO Bob Iger, have spoken about this, repeatedly insisting that the feud has had close to no impact on Walt Disney World Theme Park attendance (though the numbers are certainly worth paying attention to.)
Bob Iger Distances Himself from Predecessor, Challenges Florida Governor
All of Disney’s senior executives are staying united in their views about the Florida Governor, and publically, the company is also staying united in its views about former CEO Bob Chapek. Iger has repeatedly distanced himself from Chapek since his return and has also driven home that he will not address “what went wrong.”
Almost a year since Mr. Chapek’s departure, Bob Iger has once again called out the former controversial CEO. In a recent interview with CNBC (Squawk Box with Dave Farber), making waves on social media right now, Bob Iger once again addressed the Florida feud. While the Walt Disney Company CEO laughed off any lasting impact of the feud on Walt Disney World’s attendance numbers, he once again reiterated that Disney did not “necessarily handle that well.”
While Bob Iger stressed that Walt Disney World was a good product, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the company wants nothing more to do with its short history of Bob Chapek at its helm.
