Chapek out - Iger back

[BrianL]

I've said since practically day one this is what is happening. Remember Josh worked for Chapek and was used to "following his orders" and he knew him well enough to know he would not be able to shoulder CEO for too long. When COVID hit I think it wrote Chapek's obituary because he wasn't going to be able to carry the company which is why Iger hung around. Josh knew him well, he wasn't good for long term, he was a retail guy who thought seasonally. I doubt Josh pushed back, he just hunkered down and waited. His job was SO BROAD that I think he could look the other way from some he didn't like to focus on the good parts that he had more control over.

NOW had he had more power would some things still go through, yes. Just because we don't like them doesn't mean they wouldn't happen. Some were likely on plan from Iger days. Maybe they would have happened in a different way that would be more palatable or have a change that complimented the change rather than make it cumbersome. The question is will Josh now be in a position for fight for the parks more? If he has a solid long term plan, a way to adjust without losses and proof that something big is good for them .... I think so. He has Epic Universe to help him sell some things. I think he might be a listener type. He walks among the commoners, he talks to people. Fingers crossed the "future plans" thrown out there now have more weight to them.

One difference is that Iger does tend to let his managers manage - though he may change who some of them are. If Josh is seen as too close to Chapek, he may be on the way out too. It's hard to know at this point.

I kinda hope Iger can bring back Alan Horn. If you want to fix the studio, he's the guy!

 

[HopperFan]

One difference is that Iger does tend to let his managers manage - though he may change who some of them are. If Josh is seen as too close to Chapek, he may be on the way out too. It's hard to know at this point.

I kinda hope Iger can bring back Alan Horn. If you want to fix the studio, he's the guy!

I think Josh has worked for him for many years but not sure they are "close" as they are very different. And Josh has been at the company not much less than Chapek, so very much a company man.

Honestly you want Iger to make his first PR blunder - let Josh go. RIOTS on Main Street.

 

[BrianL]

I think Josh has worked for him for many years but not sure they are "close" as they are very different. And Josh has been at the company not much less than Chapek, so very much a company man.

Honestly you want Iger to make his first PR blunder - let Josh go. RIOTS on Main Street.

I do hope that Josh can step up and show what he can do without being under Chapek. Chapek liked to micromanage his people, so they couldn't really operate as needed. Chapek oeprated with a lot of automnomy under Iger, which granted Iger allowed to happen, but now the divisions are likely to be given more autonomy, so let's see what Josh does. I do know he is more well-liked, and that likeability factor is such a huge part of everything.

 

[HopperFan]

I do hope that Josh can step up and show what he can do without being under Chapek. Chapek liked to micromanage his people, so they couldn't really operate as needed. Chapek oeprated with a lot of automnomy under Iger, which granted Iger allowed to happen, but now the divisions are likely to be given more autonomy, so let's see what Josh does. I do know he is more well-liked, and that likeability factor is such a huge part of everything.

You catch more flies with sugar than vinegar!

 

[starlite_]

We need two CEOs.

Eisner and Wells were the golden years post Walt.

A smiley happy creative person who oozes Disney to placate the fans, and a money/corporate guy.

Disney is a strange business with their finger in so many different pies.

The parks and studios are both entertainment, but hugely different beasts. Near on impossible to find someone who is a complete master of both. Hence having to bring back Iger.

It might be that they find someone now externally with corporate nous, perhaps paired with someone from in-house who is proven creatively.

Agree. For better of worse Disney is too big and relies a lot on things like nostalgia and magic to be run as an average money making business. And that type of creative/money balance is a tough ask on any one CEO.

 

[Jwaire]

Remember that a lot of the things that Chapek took the heat for, were actually developed under Iger's watch.

There's a difference between developed and implemented.

Iger is completely different. He's an old school CEO with a firm belief that Disney should be ran from a creative standpoint.

"Iger decided to open the meeting by offering his parting advice. A longtime critic of over-reliance on market research rather than instinct and taste, he made an inspirational plea for the value of talent. He touched on the challenges of managing creators but stressed that every transaction at Disney — parks, consumer products, movies and television — starts with creativity.

In a world and business that is awash with data, it is tempting to use data to answer all of our questions, including creative questions,” he said. “I urge all of you not to do that.” If Disney had relied too heavily on data, he noted, the company might never have made big, breakthrough movies like Black Panther, Coco and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...disney-exit-bob-chapek-succession-1235025504/

He's also not a fan of Kareem Daniel whom Chapek let oversee the P&Ls of every division. Iger is not a micromanager.

"Perhaps the biggest division between Chapek and Iger was a more mundane one — Chapek’s decision to remove so-called profit-and-loss, or P&L, power from many of Disney’s veteran division leaders and consolidate all of that control under Daniel."

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/13/meet-kareem-daniel-the-head-of-disneys-new-distribution-unit.html

We are going to see some big changes in the next few months.

My prediction is Kareem Daniel is fired, P&Ls are returned to all departments, Iger hires back Zenia Mucha or hires a new PR chief, stops the drain at Imagineering (they're so not going moving to Lake Nona now) and spends most of his time trying to fix the streaming services and reign in the content budgets.

As for the Parks, I think he'll keep D'Amaro and let him actually run his division including letting him spend money on the MK expansion.

Edit: Kareem Daniel fired 11/21/22.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Hey - one can dream right?

Even if they charge for it - perhaps they will revamp the system so it works better than it does today at WDW.

Agreed. I have no expectation that the paid system will be eliminated, but I would love to see it revamped.

While we were able to make it work for us on our last trip, it was only because we used it to stack LL's during an afternoon resort break and pop in after dinner to do a bunch of attractions. It wasn't ideal but it was really our only choice. We have small kids (two under 5) which makes standby lines difficult. We found it tough to use Genie+ effectively while inside the parks - we'd just be trying to pass time between the LL's knowing full well that our kids wouldn't be able to wait 45 minutes standby while we waited for the next LL to roll around. So we wound up leaving the park instead, and hanging at the pool while I stacked up some attractions for the evenings.

And I mean, sure, I know that every service isn't meant for everyone, but you'd think they'd keep kids in mind with this sort of thing. People who legitimately can't wait in lines for medical reasons can get DAS, and if you're an adult or a family with older kids you can more easily combine Genie+ with standby or just forego Genie+ all together. It feels to me that Genie+ is most necessary/useful for families with young kids who don't qualify for DAS but can't do standby because, you know.... they're KIDS. I'd love to see a version of Genie+ that's a little more tailored to what I imagine is the demographic that "needs" it the most. I'd also love some ability to pre-plan, at least for on-site guests, and just to see more perks in general for staying on-site.

 

[DLgal]

Anyone thinking we won't see changes in the parks isn't thinking wide enough.

The parks are the only division keeping the rest of the company above water. They are absolutely essential to the well being of the company overall. The public sentiment (and recent news articles in major publications) paints a damning picture of the guest experience. Anecdotally, there are likely thousands of regular park guests who have hung up their Mickey ears and vowed not to return in the foreseeable future. This is BAD for Disney, especially while we stare down a massive economic recession. The "crowds" are an illusion. Park attendance is down this year. I'm sure they are internally panicking a bit thinking about not only next year, but the year after that, and beyond. The goodwill has been lost and they have a LOT of work yet need to do at the Parks department to fix it. And if they don't, they will jeopardize the very arm of the company that holds it up.

Fixing the studios and Disney+ sides will require a massive infusion of $$$$. Content creation isn't cheap and they can't make up the deficit by raising subscription prices. Making those divisions profitable is a long game. They need something reliable to bring in money and for now, that is the parks.

Expanding the parks RAPIDLY would be the smartest move here. Boosting CM staffing levels to improve the guest experience; eliminating barriers to guests satisfaction like the dumb park hopping rule, the dumb midnight/7am rush of Genie+ at WDW; really, TRULY limiting park attendance; putting some real emphasis on "Show" and hiring enough maintenence cast to get the rides running reliably; bringing back stage shows and live performances; getting rid of the asinine "virtual queues" for new attractions; cutting the number of Genie+ attractions down to keep standby lines reasonable; improving transportation at WDW; bring back ALL the on property perks of the past. These are all things they can implement within the next few months to mmediately to improve the experience in the parks.

 

[GAN]

Iger to Mrs. Iger: "Honey, I'm headed back to the office, are all my Mr. Rogers sweaters back from the dry cleaners?"

His wife is too busy to worry about hubby's dry cleaning! LOL She runs arguably the best Communications/Public relations school in the Country at USC.

 

[JLTraveling]

I’m not sure it was a choice as much as they needed someone they knew could steer the ship and restore some confidence in the company while they figure out who can lead in the long term.

This. I think they knew the ship was sinking in a big way, and the goal was to keep it from going over the waterfall while they find someone to actually set a new course. I am NO fan of Iger, but I think Chapek was the one person who could have literally destroyed the company.

 

[irlandaise]

The biggest immediate effect will be the morale boost amongst CM's. There are already plenty of positive reactions in the Cast community over Bob's return. Happier CM's = a better guest experience.

After that, Bob's focus will be on the more macro moves to boost investor and shareholder confidence. The Street needs to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Lastly, I'm guessing Bob will reach out to his senior leadership team (probably sooner rather than later) and ask each of them for a moving forward plan that will increase consumer/guest confidence and mitigate the bad vibes/experience/perception created during the Chapek regime.

I know that publicly traded companies are under constant pressure to show quarter-by-quarter profit gains, but I really hope that Iger does spend time on the last task you mentioned. Every company has to manage its image, but there are a few companies that have a legendary status that's crucial to maintain, and Disney is one of them. For the long-term health and prosperity of the company, Iger must reverse the reports of long-time Disney fans who are fed up with recent changes.

I realize that the parks are only part of the Disney empire, but they're the ones that generate the most public attention. Yes, people watch ABC and Disney+ series and go to Disney Studios films and write reviews of those, but nowhere do people interact more personally with the Walt Disney Company than at the parks—and they write blog postings and make videos and participate in forums about the parks to a degree not seen with other Disney divisions. Despite the popularity of The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC and of course the animated films, it was Disneyland that created a strong personal connection between the company and the public. I think it's safe to say that everyone on DISboards has strong emotional ties to the Disney parks, even decades after Walt's death. There's simply no equivalent with any other company.

In short, although Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products may not be the largest division by revenue, it's the one that most strongly represents the company in the public mind. Therefore, Disney needs a leader who acknowledges that importance and spends an amount of time improving the parks that might be considered disproportionate by a bean counter but will pay immeasurable benefits in the public's perception of the company.

 

[starlite_]

I know that publicly traded companies are under constant pressure to show quarter-by-quarter profit gains, but I really hope that Iger does spend time on the last task you mentioned. Every company has to manage its image, but there are a few companies that have a legendary status that's crucial to maintain, and Disney is one of them. For the long-term health and prosperity of the company, Iger must reverse the reports of long-time Disney fans who are fed up with recent changes.

I realize that the parks are only part of the Disney empire, but they're the ones that generate the most public attention. Yes, people watch ABC and Disney+ series and go to Disney Studios films and write reviews of those, but nowhere do people interact more personally with the Walt Disney Company than at the parks—and they write blog postings and make videos and participate in forums about the parks to a degree not seen with other Disney divisions. Despite the popularity of The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC and of course the animated films, it was Disneyland that created a strong personal connection between the company and the public. I think it's safe to say that everyone on DISboards has strong emotional ties to the Disney parks, even decades after Walt's death. There's simply no equivalent with any other company.

In short, although Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products may not be the largest division by revenue, it's the one that most strongly represents the company in the public mind. Therefore, Disney needs a leader who acknowledges that importance and spends an amount of time improving the parks that might be considered disproportionate by a bean counter but will pay immeasurable benefits in the public's perception of the company.

I hadn't thought that much about it till you mentioned it but you are soo right. Everyone that knows me knows that I love Disney. I love the characters and the movies and the shows. But I would not love them so if it wasn't for the Parks. I haven't watched so many of the classic animated films in a while but I go to the Parks at least once a year ever since I can remember. It's part of what I miss about the Disney Store, the tangibility and interactivity with the characters and stories. As much as folks love to yell praises about other parks and how much better they are currently because they don't have Genie+, those parks can never compete with that feeling of "magic". Sorry T-rex, it just isn't the same.

 

[RyanKough]

While Iger is responsible for some of the things we hate in the parks I think a few changes will be made immediately to repair brand image. It may be something small but something will change or go back to like it was.

A small change that will not cost them will be the park hopping time rule. Immediately make some happiness without expense.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

There's a difference between developed and implemented.

Iger is completely different. He's an old school CEO with a firm belief that Disney should be ran from a creative standpoint.

"Iger decided to open the meeting by offering his parting advice. A longtime critic of over-reliance on market research rather than instinct and taste, he made an inspirational plea for the value of talent. He touched on the challenges of managing creators but stressed that every transaction at Disney — parks, consumer products, movies and television — starts with creativity.

In a world and business that is awash with data, it is tempting to use data to answer all of our questions, including creative questions,” he said. “I urge all of you not to do that.” If Disney had relied too heavily on data, he noted, the company might never have made big, breakthrough movies like Black Panther, Coco and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...disney-exit-bob-chapek-succession-1235025504/

He's also not a fan of Kareem Daniel whom Chapek let oversee the P&Ls of every division. Iger is not a micromanager.

"Perhaps the biggest division between Chapek and Iger was a more mundane one — Chapek’s decision to remove so-called profit-and-loss, or P&L, power from many of Disney’s veteran division leaders and consolidate all of that control under Daniel."

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/13/meet-kareem-daniel-the-head-of-disneys-new-distribution-unit.html

We are going to see some big changes in the next few months.

My prediction is Kareem Daniel is fired, P&Ls are returned to all departments, Iger hires back Zenia Mucha or hires a new PR chief, stops the drain at Imagineering (they're so not going moving to Lake Nona now) and spends most of his time trying to fix the streaming services and reign in the content budgets.

As for the Parks, I think he'll keep D'Amaro and let him actually run his division including letting him spend money on the MK expansion.

Great post!!!
P&L at a company is like an Offensive line in football, the only time you ever hear about them is if they're playing poorly. That being said, it is one of the most important positions in any company.

 

[disneyseniors]

I propose that today be made a national holiday, LOL!!! We could start the Thanksgiving week right by celebrating this day

 

[arich35]

A small change that will not cost them will be the park hopping time rule. Immediately make some happiness without expense.

That would pretty much make the park reservation system obsolete.

 

[Gandalf_Greyhame]

That would pretty much make the park reservation system obsolete.

Agree. I don't think the reservation system is going away yet (maybe someday), but if they changed the hopper time to noon that would be met with cheers too.

 

[MomOTwins]

Chapek be like:



Dis-ers be like:

 

[Robert Stoddart]

Agree. I don't think the reservation system is going away yet (maybe someday), but if they changed the hopper time to noon that would be met with cheers too.

If they'd update so that you don't have to go to the initial park first to tap-in, that would be a win for everyone.

 

[raidermatt]

Agree. I don't think the reservation system is going away yet (maybe someday), but if they changed the hopper time to noon that would be met with cheers too.

Idk, there's a chance. The reservation system was a pandemic response and Chapek/D'Amaro loved it so much they kept it. I get it makes it easier for Disney to manage staffing and other resources, but Disney has enough experience to effectively manage this without blunt force tools like the park reservation system. They did it for decades. True, there would always be a hiccup here and there, but for the most part Disney was able to handle this just fine. Its possible that Iger leaves something like this to D'Amaro to decide, and certainly he has experience with handling this through proper forecasting.

What we don't know is whether D'Amaro really wants to keep the system, or if he sees the substantial guest experience drawbacks as too big a cost to pay for the nickels and dimes (relatively speaking) it saves. Under Chapek, we know nickels and dimes ruled. Iger wasn't exactly loose with the purse strings, but he did at least have a basic understanding of how the guest experience would impact Disney's long term business model. At the very least, his method was to slowly chip away, and evaluate the impacts after each chip. Whereas Chapek was much more "damn the torpedos".

We'll have to see.