Where’s Other Bob? – How Bob Chapek Is Ruining Disney

In February of 2020, Bob Iger stunned the business world by announcing that he was stepping down as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company after 15 successful years. 

“I don’t want to run the company anymore.” 

Fair enough, Bob. 

During his tenure as CEO, Iger turned an already successful company and brand to even greater, more international heights. He broadened Disney’s library of content with the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. He made critical headway in East Asian markets. Under his guidance, the beloved company’s market capitalization grew from $48 billion to $257 billion. 

It wasn’t just his savvy business mind that expanded Disney’s capital and influence. Bob Iger is widely regarded to have great interpersonal relationships. People across the board adore Iger. People did business with him because they liked him and his ideas. 

It wasn’t just surprising and heartbreaking that Iger was stepping down after leading Disney to such success. It was who he chose to take over that was surprising: Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Bob Chapek. 

It’s only been two years, but in that short time, it really seems that Bob Chapek is ruining Disney. 

Chapek The Rising Star

Chapek began his career at Disney in 1993 as the marketing director for Buena Vista Home Entertainment at a time when VHS was still dominant but DVD was waiting in the wings. He is widely credited for bringing Disney’s home entertainment division into the digital age by leaning into the emergence of DVD and eventually Blu-ray. 

Then-CEO Michael Eisner had high hopes for Chapek’s career:

“He was always an executive that you knew would be on the rise. He knew how to grow the business while adjusting to the changing marketplace, which was intense.” 

And rise he did. In 2006, Chapek was promoted to president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Three years later, he was president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios. Two years after that, Chapek was appointed president of Disney Consumer Products. 

Chapek was building success for Disney under Iger’s leadership. It wouldn’t be until 2015 that Chapek’s star rose even higher. 

Disney’s Marvel-ous Galaxy Far, Far Away

After Michael Eisner was pushed out as CEO in 2005, Iger was warmly welcomed into the role. He started his tenure off very strong in 2006 when he led Disney’s acquisition of Pixar for $7.4 billion. This set an optimistic tone for Disney’s future after the post-Renaissance lull. 

Roy E. Disney, in particular, was excited about Iger’s new role:

“Animation has always been the heart and soul of the Walt Disney Company, and it is wonderful to see Bob Iger and the company embrace that heritage by bringing the outstanding animation talent of the Pixar team back into the fold.

“This clearly solidifies The Walt Disney Company’s position as the domination leader in motion picture animation and we applaud and support Bob Iger’s vision.” 

Iger’s vision was simple: bigger and better. In 2009, he led Disney’s acquisition of Marvel for $4 billion. In 2012, after a casual chat with George Lucas about retiring, Disney acquired Lucasfilm (and with it, the rights to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises) for $4 billion. 

Chapek ended up being a crucial talent for Iger’s vision. In 2015, he was named chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. In that role, he oversaw the launch of Pandora – The World of Avatar, directly managed the construction and opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and invested a staggering $24 billion into theme parks, attractions, hotels, and cruise ships. 

That investment paid off in 2017 when Disney’s parks and resorts saw a 14% increase in operating income. This is when the media began to whisper and murmur about Chapek being a possible candidate for Disney CEO. 

In 2018, as the company was preparing for the launch of Disney+, some divisions were reorganized and Chapek was given back the consumer products division in addition to his parks and resorts responsibilities. 

Iger had faith in Chapek:

“Bob comes to this new role with an impressive record of success at both parks and resorts and consumer products and he is the perfect leader to run these combined teams.” 

This open praise by Iger only fueled media speculation about Chapek’s candidacy for CEO. 

Speaking of which…

Surprise! Chapek’s The New CEO

In 2020, Bob Chapek was announced as the next CEO of The Walt Disney Company, much to the surprise of many Disney employees who expected Tom Staggs to take over. The only caveat was that Iger, due to COVID, would handle many of Disney’s operational duties. This would ease Chapek into the role during a tumultuous time. 

Iger stayed on in some capacity until the end of 2021. As he left, he warned executives not to let data influence Disney’s creative decisions. 

Chapek knew the future of media consumption and made it a point to direct Disney in the right direction – producing direct-to-consumer content via Disney+:

“It’s about having a granular understanding of what the consumption patterns are, and then speaking to the consumers in a way that’s going to be relevant to the content that they want specifically for themselves. 

“And, by doing so, we’ll drive engagement and consumption.”

Chapek settled into his new role with confidence. It wouldn’t be until legal problems presented themselves that Chapek’s lack of interpersonal talent and misguided priorities became a real problem for Disney. 

The new CEO would unwittingly drive wedges between creative talent and executives in such a messy fashion that it would bring his status into question. 

Chapek’s Embarrassing Legal Fumbles

Chapek’s talent as a “numbers guy” was no help for him as Disney navigated survival under COVID. While no one blames him for having to shut down parks and slowly reopen under CDC guidance, there were legal issues Chapek handled poorly, to put it mildly. 

Black Widow Lawsuit

After a one-year absence, Scarlet Johansson reprised her role as Black Widow in her own solo film, on which she served as Executive Producer. The film proved to be a major success and vehicle for the superstar. However, due to COVID, many planned theatrical releases were canceled and moved to streaming platforms. 

In July 2021, she filed a lawsuit against Disney. In the suit, she claimed that the simultaneous release of Black Widow on Disney+ breached a clause in her contract. Johansson was entitled to box-office profits, which the release on Disney+ denied her. 

Disney responded… aggressively. The company went on a character attack, claiming that Johannson was indifferent to the “horrific and prolonged” effects of the pandemic. The back-and-forth between the two parties was very messy until they reached a settlement in September that year. 

“Don’t Say Gay”

In 2022, Florida passed Florida House Bill 1557 (also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill). During the backlash, reports surfaced about Disney funding the very legislaters who wrote and sponsored the bill. 

Normally, a company funding politicians wouldn’t come under much scrutiny. But the extremity of the bill was in direct contradiction with Disney’s proudly public pro-LGBTQ+ stance. 

In a company memo, Chapek refused to criticize the controversial bill and intentionally played down the company’s backing of anti-LGBT legislators. His statements and lack of action drew quick backlash. And then came the backpedaling:

“I want to be crystal clear: I and the entire leadership team unequivocally stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities. And, we are committed to creating a more inclusive company — and world.

“We all share the same goal of a more tolerant, respectful world. Where we may differ is in the tactics to get there. And because this struggle is much bigger than any one bill in any one state, I believe the best way for our company to bring about lasting change is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create, and the diverse community organizations we support.”

Disney announced that is was withdrawing all political donations and instead turning their financial support to LGBTQ+ causes. Florida Governor Ron Desantis retaliated in a way he almost certainly did not think through. 

But that’s an entirely different story. 

Will Chapek Squander Iger’s Success?

It’s a little early to say for sure. After all, it’s only been two years. Chapek is having a rocky start to his tenure, to say the least. But there’s always room for improvement. 

The test of a good CEO is how they handle bad situations. Chapek had little control over COVID but had plenty of control how Disney handled the Black Widow lawsuit and the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The tensions he created between executives and creatives is incredibly damaging to a company that champions creativity above all else. 

Chapek, as of today, still hasn’t quite found his footing. His latest embarrassing blunder involved comparing himself to Iron Man and confusing Disneyland’s motto for Disney World’s at his alma matter, Indiana University:

“IU was my ticket to a new life…I was kind of desperate. Desperate to demonstrate my worthiness and desperate not to waste a dime of my parents’ money on a school that was frankly testing my limits at the time.

“But that desperation turned to determination and my dream of defying expectations and the odds took over. And just like Iron Man draws his energy from that Arc Reactor, I get a thump from my drive to prove myself every single day. 

“It’s a lifetime power supply that pushes me through doubts, difficulties and around those who underestimate kids from the region.”

In the speech, Chapek confused Disneyland’s motto “The Happiest Place on Earth,” for Disney World’s “The Most Magical Place on Earth.” OOPS. The motto mixup gaffe wouldn’t be that big of a deal, if Chapek hadn’t run Disney’s parks for five years. 

Bob Chapek has become a bit of a joke of a CEO. Whether or not he can turn his reputation around is entirely up to him. As of now, morale at Disney post-Iger is low and does not like the direction Chapek has been driving the iconic company. The creative geniuses that drive Disney’s success must be wondering, “Where’s other Bob?”

Iger, despite rumors of tensions between the two Bobs, has expressed support for Chapek:

“He’s very different from me. That doesn’t mean he can’t do that job well. Give him time. It’s the only fair thing to do.”

Fair enough, Bob.