Disney’s board of directors has extended Bob Iger’s contract until the end of 2026. The vote was unanimous, he said, explaining that this extension was intended to ensure “continuity of governance during the transformation of the group currently being carried out”.
It must also make it possible “to carry out a transition plan concerning the succession to the post of general manager, which remains a priority for the board” of directors. Bob Iger, 72, agreed in November 2022 to return to head the Enchanted Kingdom for two years with the objective of establishing a strategy for “renewed growth”, Disney said at the time. He had led the company from 2005 to 2020 and remained executive chairman of the group board until the end of 2021.
No reason was given for the departure of Bob Chapek, who succeeded him at the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. He had to manage the closure, then the reopening, of amusement parks but also the expansion of streaming. “Bob (Iger) has repeatedly demonstrated his unparalleled ability to successfully transform Disney into a future of growth and financial returns,” the board noted Wednesday. “Bob has once again put Disney on the right strategic path of creating sustainable growth.”
“Despite the challenges, I think Disney’s long-term future is incredibly bright,” Bob Iger said in the statement. “But there is more to be done before this work of transformation is complete.” And to explain having agreed to stay two additional years to ensure that the group is “solidly positioned” when it passes the baton.
