While in the moment the news yesterday of Bob Iger stepping down may have seemed surprising, it’s been a long time coming and as the Disney – and Star Wars – landscape shifts, so Iger and new Disney CEO Bob Chapek answer questions posed at the latest Walt Disney Company Conference Call.
Chapek was asked about his views on running parts of the business he hasn’t spent time running, a relevant question considering that running Disney is far, far more than just running a movie studio.
Chapek: In terms of your question about the businesses that I’ve not managed, Bob has been great in terms of giving me exposure across many segments of the company. I spent 19 years in the Studio, then moved on to Consumer Products, and then on to Parks, so I’ve had probably a fairly broad overview of how the company operates, regardless of the different industries that we work in. That said, obviously I’ve not spent as much time on the media side or the Direct to Consumer side, but we have some really great, experienced leaders that are in place in those businesses, and the way that Bob essentially manages this direct team is that we have a lot of cross-fertilization. We meet every single week and discuss each other’s businesses and so, while I certainly have an opportunity to immerse myself more inside those media businesses, I have a bit of fluency, just like my peers have some fluency in our business. I’m familiar with the opportunity and some of the challenges that they all face.
And Iger discussed what his role will be in the company until he steps away completely at the end of next year.
Iger: My intention is to really spend time on all of our creative endeavors, whether they’re at ESPN, or at the Fox Studios, or at our Media Networks and newly-acquired businesses, like Hulu for instance, or Disney+. There’s an ample amount for me to focus on and to engage with our team on.
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in 1981 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He's contributed to Star Wars Insider (since '06) and Starburst Magazine (since '16) as well as ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, Star Trek magazine and StarTrek.com. He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host, the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since the stage began in 2015, the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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While in the moment the news yesterday of Bob Iger stepping down may have seemed surprising, it’s been a long time coming and as the Disney – and Star Wars – landscape shifts, so Iger and new Disney CEO Bob Chapek answer questions posed at the latest Walt Disney Company Conference Call.
Chapek was asked about his views on running parts of the business he hasn’t spent time running, a relevant question considering that running Disney is far, far more than just running a movie studio.
Chapek: In terms of your question about the businesses that I’ve not managed, Bob has been great in terms of giving me exposure across many segments of the company. I spent 19 years in the Studio, then moved on to Consumer Products, and then on to Parks, so I’ve had probably a fairly broad overview of how the company operates, regardless of the different industries that we work in. That said, obviously I’ve not spent as much time on the media side or the Direct to Consumer side, but we have some really great, experienced leaders that are in place in those businesses, and the way that Bob essentially manages this direct team is that we have a lot of cross-fertilization. We meet every single week and discuss each other’s businesses and so, while I certainly have an opportunity to immerse myself more inside those media businesses, I have a bit of fluency, just like my peers have some fluency in our business. I’m familiar with the opportunity and some of the challenges that they all face.
And Iger discussed what his role will be in the company until he steps away completely at the end of next year.
Iger: My intention is to really spend time on all of our creative endeavors, whether they’re at ESPN, or at the Fox Studios, or at our Media Networks and newly-acquired businesses, like Hulu for instance, or Disney+. There’s an ample amount for me to focus on and to engage with our team on.
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in 1981 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He's contributed to Star Wars Insider (since '06) and Starburst Magazine (since '16) as well as ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, Star Trek magazine and StarTrek.com. He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host, the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since the stage began in 2015, the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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Chapek: In terms of your question about the businesses that I’ve not managed, Bob has been great in terms of giving me exposure across many segments of the company. I spent 19 years in the Studio, then moved on to Consumer Products, and then on to Parks, so I’ve had probably a fairly broad overview of how the company operates, regardless of the different industries that we work in. That said, obviously I’ve not spent as much time on the media side or the Direct to Consumer side, but we have some really great, experienced leaders that are in place in those businesses, and the way that Bob essentially manages this direct team is that we have a lot of cross-fertilization. We meet every single week and discuss each other’s businesses and so, while I certainly have an opportunity to immerse myself more inside those media businesses, I have a bit of fluency, just like my peers have some fluency in our business. I’m familiar with the opportunity and some of the challenges that they all face.
