Disney CEO Bob Iger was named one of the most influential people of the year by TIME Magazine, sitting down with the magazine for an interview filled with advice and commentary on the company and its history, as well as current newsmaking situations.
What’s Happening:
- As part of TIME100, Disney CEO Bob Iger was selected to be part of the special coverage by the iconic magazine, being named one of TIME’s most influential people of 2023. Iger, 72, helmed the company for 15 years before handing it down to his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek, who himself was dismissed after fewer than three years in the position. Iger was then asked to come back to the CEO spot, and shared with the magazine what that was like, as well as some advice from his wife and a late friend.
- Iger told TIME that he was “very, very surprised” to find himself back in the role, leading The Walt Disney Company. “It’s not something I anticipated doing. But I’m certainly happy to be here.”
- In the interview, Iger also shares that he got inspiration from another CEO he was close with, the late Apple founder, Steve Jobs, saying, “Speaking with him when I did, and reflecting on what his experiences were—I’ve taken a lot from that. One is when you are brought back, and you agree to come back, you have to do so with unbelievable enthusiasm, and not an ounce of hesitation. And then you have to know very quickly what it is you’re expected to accomplish and what it is you can accomplish. And then go at it with incredible resolve, incredible zeal, and incredible energy.”
- Regarding that surprise comeback, and the phone call that started its process, Iger adds, “I had been out for about a year, 11 months. The Chairman of the Board of Disney set up a call with me. When I told [my wife Willow Bay] about the call, she immediately questioned what it would be about. I think she actually said, ‘They’re probably not going to ask you back.’ And I said, ‘Well, what if they do?’ And she immediately responded, ‘Yes.’ I have such respect for her instinct, that when the call came and I was asked by the chairman of our board to come back, I responded, yes without any hesitation. There are certain things that I felt I needed to stipulate. But it was a quick decision.”
- Just before Iger’s return, the Walt Disney Company was under attack by Nelson Peltz and his firm, Trian, launching a proxy fight to get Peltz on the board of the media giant, as he claimed the company was being mismanaged and had been since the Fox acquisition in 2019. A key player in that event was Ike Perlmutter, president of Marvel, who sold the comic co. to Disney back in 2009. Recently, Perlmutter’s position with the Walt Disney Company was eliminated as part of cost-cutting measures enacted by Iger. Ironically, cuts that would get Peltz to raise the white flag and end his proxy bid. When asked if that played into the layoff of Perlmutter, Iger said, “This was a necessary step in the direction of us creating a more efficient company. There was redundancy specific to the way Marvel was being managed…This decision would have been made regardless of that.”
- Iger also made comments when asked how a company like Disney stands the test of time, that seemed to (without mentioning names) point at the recent and ousted leadership, saying “I actually think that if you study great companies over time and you try to figure out why some companies stand the test of time and others do not, you would quickly conclude that most companies fade away because they’ve abandoned the core values that created the company in the first place. That, in the interest of staying relevant, they distance themselves from the essence of what they were. There is a way to completely adhere to those same values but to present them to the world to your customers, and to your employees in much more relevant ways.” In that same vein, the idea of Disney’s investment in sports betting and their partnership with sports betting firm DraftKings was brought up, a move made by Chapek, where he cited that that's what younger sports viewing audiences are looking for. A move also made just ahead of Iger’s return in November of 2022.
- TIME picked up on Iger’s lack of enthusiasm for the topic, before Iger added, “I was probably on the more conservative side about this for a long time. But I’ve changed because I think the acceptance of sports betting has grown significantly. And my desire is to see that the company continues to serve its consumers well, without us really, I think, distancing ourselves from values, because we’re not actually causing the bets to be made.”
- The interview also addresses Disney’s current fight with Florida State Governor Ron DeSantis as he tries to remove the powers of the Reedy Creek Improvement District overseeing the Walt Disney World Resort, with Iger taking a firm stance saying, “turning swampland in Central Florida into a business that employs over 75,000 people, that is visited by tens of millions of people every year, that is a major tourist destination in the United States, and for the state of Florida, that creates huge value for our company and its employees, and for the state of Florida itself. Our sole goal in Florida is to continue creating that value for all those constituencies. All we want is a relationship with the state that enables us to continue to do that. We have the wherewithal and we have the desire to continue to invest there to grow that business so that we can hire more people so that we can increase our attendance, and so that we can basically increase more value for the Walt Disney Company and for the state of Florida. It’s that simple.”
- As for his replacement this time around? “ Given the events of the last couple of years, it’s not only a priority, but will get more time, more attention, more focus than it did before,” Iger says. “We’ve always viewed it as an important decision. But given the fact that I’m not here forever and we had some difficulties these last couple of years, it’s getting more attention than it has in the past.”
- You can read the full interview with TIME in print and online.