If you were utterly shocked by The Walt Disney Company’s recent announcement that CEO Bob Chapek was out and former CEO Bob Iger was back in — you’re not the only one.
Disney made the announcement late Sunday evening, and right away many fans were celebrating Iger’s return. But, this decision seemed to come out of nowhere — especially considering that several Disney executives were scheduled to attend Elton John’s farewell concert and the American Music Awards that same night, including Chapek. And as the news spread, it began to seem like Bob Chapek was blindsided when he was fired by Disney.
When Bob Chapek woke up on Sunday morning, chances are he had no idea how his night was going to end. But Disney’s Board of Directors already had a plan set up to remove Chapek as CEO of The Walt Disney Company and replace him with his at-one-point predecessor, Bob Iger.
According to Variety, the news broke while Chapek was scheduled to be at an event and it was so unexpected that several Disney employees thought the press release was a hoax.
Disney gave no official insight into their decision-making process or why this was happening now, but it was later revealed that they had reached out to Iger the previous Friday amidst growing concerns related to the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. So, what happened after that?
On Sunday, November 20th, several top Disney executives — including Chapek and his right-hand man Kareem Daniel — were slated to appear at one of two events happening in Los Angeles: the American Music Awards, and Elton John’s farewell tour at Dodger Stadium which was aired as a livestream on Disney+.
During the daytime run-through for Elton John’s show, it was announced that the Disney Branded Television team would be taking over supporting the Elton John live show for Disney+ — Chapek was originally scheduled to attend the show and a VIP pre-show event with Elton John, but he canceled at the last minute.
Meanwhile, Disney General Entertainment Content chairman Dana Walden, and Hulu/ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich and chief marketing officer Shannon Ryan were supposed to check out the AMAs before heading to the concert.
But when it reportedly came time for the Disney Branded Television reception, phones started buzzing with the news — and many executives present were visibly shocked, per Variety.
Over in the more exclusive hospitality tent, more Disney executives began arriving — including Chapek’s pal Kareem Daniel (who has since been ousted as chairperson of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution). However, Daniel left shortly after arriving.
The fact that Chapek and Daniel were still scheduled to attend these events points to the idea that neither probably had any idea what was coming.
It was later revealed that Disney’s Board of Directors reached out to Bob Iger the previous Friday to see if he would be interested in stepping back into the role of CEO, and once that plan was in place the Board took action.
After the announcement was made on Sunday, Monday morning brought the rise of Disney stock prices, as well as news that Kareem Daniel would no longer be working for The Walt Disney Company.
Iger now has the tough job of trying to correct a whole host of issues that have plagued Disney over the last few years, including building a streaming empire and dealing with the fallout of Disney’s response to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law.
Not only that, but Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District is being eliminated in 2023 thanks to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Iger will now have to face whatever problems arise from that.
Whatever the future of The Walt Disney Company will be remains to be seen, but we’ll continue to keep you updated with the latest.
If you want to learn more about the recent change with Bob Iger returning as CEO, check out the articles below:
- Click here to read the full statement regarding Chapek’s exit and Iger’s reentrance as CEO.
- Why Bob Iger Replaced Bob Chapek As Disney CEO
- Disney Stock Prices Rise After Iger Announced As CEO
- What CEO Has Made the Biggest Changes to Disney World
Stay tuned to AllEars for more updates The Walt Disney Company and this new change.
Why Bob Iger Replaced Bob Chapek, and Why Now
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What do you think about the CEO switch-up? Let us know in the comments!
I suspect Reedy Creek will stay intact. DeSantis can claim that Chapek is gone and with the return of Iger, all will be okay now.
A real Mickey Mouse move
It ‘s wonderful that Iger agreed to step in and hopefully, some normalcy can be restored!!
Don’t feel bad. I was blind sided that Disney extended his contract a few months ago.
I just want to give you kudos for calling it the Parental Rights In Education Bill….instead of the name many other’s like to falsely claim. As for Iger, I don’t believe he is the savior everyone is hoping he will be.
I think it’s wonderful! I said I wouldn’t return to Disney until Chapek was gone . I even sold my Disney stock and my Vacation Club resorts.
Guess I should have waited lol !
Well maybe I’ll return if Iger brings things back to normal!
Iger is the one responsible for the mess chapek was dealing with. Not sure why you people think iger was such a great CEO. He raised prices all 15 years he was in charge. He chose to get rid of magical express. He instituted charging to park at the hotels. Genie plus was under development while he was the CEO.