It happened. The unthinkable, the unimaginable, the unprecedented… In a late-evening announcement on Sunday, November 20, 2022, it was made official: beleaguered CEO of The Walt Disney Company Bob Chapek was gone. Less than three years after he was hastily elevated into the position (replacing long-time predecessor and beloved industry visionary Bob Iger) and just days after announcing he intended to launch waves of layoffs and hiring freezes in his data-oriented, revenue-maximizing approach to leading the world’s largest entertainment company, Chapek had been given a pink slip himself…
The unceremonious exit of the war-torn CEO was long a daydream of Disney fans – who largely detested Chapek’s management style and the strictly-financial lens through which he seemed to view The Walt Disney Company. Dreamier still, though, was Disney’s replacement. In an internal email to Cast, retired CEO Bob Iger announced with “gratitude and humility – and I must admit, a bit of amazement” that he would return to his former post, officially becoming the CEO of Disney once more.
Continue reading “The Bob Swap: Parting Words to Chapek’s Short-Lived Stint as Disney CEO, and Essential Reflections on What Happened”