Bob Iger was a guest at the University of Pennsylvania last week, sitting down to discuss his career and to discuss his NYT number one bestselling book The Ride of A Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of The Walt Disney Company. The talk touched on a number of topics, including his journey to the top of the Disney castle.
“I never feared failure, but interestingly enough my first boss at ABC told me that I was not promotable,” Iger said. “I was 23 at the time. I’ve always been realistic about my talent and my intelligence, but I’ve never been a self-doubter.”
Iger also spoke about Disney’s efforts to promote diversity, both in terms of characters on screen and people working behind the camera.
“We have done a lot of work in that regard and made a lot of progress, particularly when it comes to women directors,” he said. “About 40% of our movies over the next 12 to 18 months are directed by women.”
Iger said he believes Disney has done a “very good job” with diversity on camera, but said that “there is much more work to be done in the executive ranks and the creative ranks.”
Wharton senior Allison McGurk was impressed by his talk.
“I think he’s really humble and is a lot funnier than I expected for someone who is running one of the biggest companies in the world. I liked how he spoke about empowering Disney’s acquisitions, encouraging them to be more creative, and giving them what is necessary to succeed rather than trying to make more money for Disney.”
