Former Disney CFO Says Bob Iger Has ‘Systematically Eliminated’ Any Potential Successors
As Bob Iger continues his second term as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, he is plagued by an all too familiar question — who will be his successor?
Iger’s initial run as CEO of Disney concluded in 2020, with the naming of Bob Chapek as his successor. Before that, however, Iger seemingly alienated a series of potential CEOs, including Tom Staggs, Kevin Mayer, and Jay Rasulo, all of whom left the company when it was clear they would not be selected to succeed Iger.
New Term, Same Questions
Early in Iger’s second term as CEO, the old succession question remains omnipresent.
When he returned to his old role in 2022, Iger made it clear he would only stay on the job for two years.
In July 2023, however, Disney announced that his contract would be extended until 2026. Following the announcement, Christine McCarthy, Disney’s CFO, who was seen as a potential Iger successor, left the company. Whether or not her departure was due to Iger’s prolonged tenure remains unclear.
Has Iger Eliminated All CEO Candidates?
Still, it is departures like McCarthy’s that have led Gary Wilson, former CFO of the Walt Disney Company, to conclude that Iger has stymied potential successors at every turn, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
“Iger has systematically eliminated any executive who could become a successor,” Wilson told The Wall Street Journal in a recent profile on the CEO. “To me it’s a real black mark on Iger’s record.”
A Familiar Story for Disney
As explored more robustly by my colleague David Mumpower, the Wall Street Journal article on Iger drew a series of parallels between the end of his tenure and that of Michael Eisner.
Eisner’s messy exit from Disney was exasperated by his unwillingness to give up the reigns and his suspicion of any potential successor.
For his part, Eisner disputes this narrative. The former CEO claims that he knew that Iger had to be the one to succeed him.
“I brought Bob Iger in as president after five years of working with him. From 2000 on, it was clear to me and anyone else who was close enough to know what was needed that he should be the next CEO,” Eisner explained. All other candidates were “compared to Bob, and they all fell short.”
Iger Says This Time, He Is Stepping Down
Like Eisner, Bob Iger has argued that the problem of succession has been blown out of proportion.
“The succession process at Disney is robust right now,” Iger said at the DealBook Summit this year. “We’re aggressively pursuing succession, there’s no more detail that I want to give.”
When asked if he was stepping down for good in 2026, Iger affirmed that he would.
“Given the list of things that I have to do? Yeah, I’m definitely going to step down,” he said.
Still, without a clear successor in sight, the questions about the future of the Walt Disney Company CEO position will continue to plague Iger.
If he wants to silence his critics once and for all, naming his successor and grooming them for the role should be at the top of Iger’s to-do list. Then, one of the few stains on the CEO’s legacy will finally be blotted out.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon! Also, thanks for reading!