by Ray Keating
Commentary
DisneyBizJournal.com
March 21, 2022
So, CEO Bob Chapek continues to stake out his own ground, with his own people and goals, at Disney. Also, Chapek and his predecessor, Bob Iger, might not be getting along real well, but either way, Chapek and Disney are moving on from Iger. Those seem to be the big takeaways from CNBC reporter Alex Sherman’s piece at CNBC.com titled “‘Extremely awkward’: Bob Chapek and Bob Iger had a falling out, they rarely talk — and the rift looms over Disney’s future.”
Huh, go figure.
The article doesn’t really serve up much that’s new. The basic points are that Chapek and Iger operate in different ways, though they share (or in Iger’s case, “shared”) similar focuses on streaming, making Disney more like a tech company, and improving, centralizing and speeding up decision-making (an area where the means to getting there differ between the two men). Also, Chapek is more of an operations guy, while Iger scored high as more of a schmoozer, one might say.
Some people at Disney like this, and some don’t. Again, go figure.
The thing that struck me most about this article was the tone. One gets the feeling that Sherman has been fully and successfully schmoozed by Iger. Consider various tidbits served up in the article about Iger, and where that leaves Chapek.
• “Chapek’s decision to move away from Iger showed chutzpah, but it also put him on an island against a Disney icon…”
Really? A new CEO moving away from a predecessor and staking out his own agenda is “chutzpah” and moving onto an island? Well, I guess if the predecessor is reported to be a “Disney icon”…
• “Iger was generally beloved by Hollywood and highly respected as a CEO, particularly after orchestrating a series of intellectual property acquisitions — of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm — which will likely go down in media history as three of the smartest deals ever.”
Wow, “smartest deals ever”? Maybe at some point that will be the case, but perhaps some time, perspective and sobriety are in order.
• “Iger, 71, has even flirted with running for president of the United States. Chapek, meanwhile, has a harder exterior and at times, according to colleagues, struggles with emotional intelligence — which happens to be Iger’s strength.”
Golly. There’s Iger pondering the presidency and being skilled in emotional intelligence, while Chapek is … hard.
• One last point on this front, Sherman writes: “Late last year, just weeks before his departure as executive chairman, Iger threw himself a going-away party, inviting more than 50 people at his house in Brentwood, a suburban Los Angeles neighborhood.”
Um, who throws “himself a going-away party”? Apparently, Bob Iger does, the same guy who gave thought to running for president of the United States based on the fact that, well, he smartly bought science fiction, comic book and cartoon characters for an entertainment company. Hey, why not? After all, in the age of Trump and Biden, that resume just might sell.
And speaking of politics, of course, Chapek gets slammed in this CNBC piece for his “not fighting harder against” a bill in Florida that activists and many in the media labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. In reality, this legislation basically turned out to be a parental information and authority bill (see The Wall Street Journal here) that was done a disservice by activists on both sides. (Again, go figure.) Somehow, though, the CEO of an entertainment company – well, actually, it seems only Disney’s CEO – is supposed to be staking out ground on such matters. How would Chapek have time to run Disney if he’s supposed to serve as a lobbyist on controversial political issues across the nation that have nothing to do with his business? That would keep him pretty busy. The reporter does not delve into such questions. But he does note that Iger came out against the legislation early on, which, by the way, was then a different bill, which also went unmentioned in the report. Of course, Chapek eventually did apologize for not doing more.
As for where the company has been and might be headed, Iger certainly deserves credit for those IP acquisitions and for moving Disney in the streaming direction. His track record, though far from perfect (no one’s is), was excellent. But a more serious and less fawning assessment is always appreciated from a financial news network. As for Chapek, he came on board during the unimaginable – the onset of a deadly pandemic – and deserves time to see how his changes and leadership will work for customers, employees, and shareholders. As they say, the jury is still out.
The author of the CNBC article does kind of throw a bone in Chapek’s direction: “It’s possible Disney employees and the broader media and entertainment world simply get used to Chapek’s method of leadership with time. Chapek clearly isn’t Iger, but perhaps his biggest challenge will be convincing everyone it’s OK not to be.” Well, yes, it’s still clear that CNBC’s Alex Sherman likes Bob Iger … a lot.
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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.
The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?
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