In March came the news that Disney CEO Bob Iger was to step down, handing over his job to Bob Chapek, though would stay on until the end of his contract late next year to help facilitate the transition and manage some other areas. The move had been in the works for a while.
However the COVID-19 pandemic has struck the world hard, and Disney has been particularly vulnerable. Disney’s multi-billion dollar revenue streams greatly rely on things requiring social interaction – cinema release, theme parks, cruises – which have all been shut down. The lack of professional sports has also hurt their TV crown jewel ESPN.
One estimate suggests the company is losing tens of millions per day while the U.S. parks are closed along with costly production delays. Even Iger’s push for the future, the introduction of the Disney+ streaming service, remains very much an investment and is still years away from generating major revenue.
Now, The New York Times is reporting today that in recent weeks, Iger has quietly stepped back up to help take charge and steer the company through the current crisis.
The report goes so far as to say Iger is effectively retaining his CEO label in function, if not title, though Iger himself still sees what he’s doing as merely mentoring: “A crisis of this magnitude, and its impact on Disney, would necessarily result in my actively helping Bob [Chapek] and the company contend with it, particularly since I ran the company for 15 years!”
Iger has also already proposed some new initiatives to help streamline Disney operations including ditching expensive old-school television practices such as advertising upfronts and the often wasteful pilot season, along with re-opening with less office space and fewer employees.
