Bob Iger plans to leave Disney in 2019 — really, this time
The CEO reaffirmed he will leave the company in July 2019, when his contract expires after Disney extended it in March after a succession plan unravelled last year
By Leon Lazaroff
Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger says he’s going to leave the world’s largest entertainment company in 2019. Really. He’s serious this time.
“This time I mean it,” Iger said in Los Angeles at a media industry conference hosted by Vanity Fair.
Iger’s firm affirmation that he will leave Disney in an official capacity in roughly two years when his contract expires is sure to set the Disney tea-leaf watchers into a frenzy. Much speculation for his successor will undoubtedly fall on Disney’s division heads, starting with Ben Sherwood, who runs its media networks group along with ESPN president John Skipper. Given that the biggest questions confronting Disney revolve around its television businesses, Sherwood’s experience would seem to put him high in the running. Sherwood also is said to be well-liked by Iger.
Others candidates within Disney are likely to include Bob Chapek, who runs the company’s theme parks and resorts operation, as well as Kevin Mayer, the company’s chief strategist. Mayer’s lack of operating experience, though, is likely to make him a long shot. Iger, 66, by comparison, was president of ABC Television and later chief operating officer of Capital Cities/ABC Inc. before it was acquired by Disney in 1996.
Iger was elevated to the same position at Disney in 2000 before succeeding Michael Eisner in 2005. Eisner was forced out of Disney following Roy Disney’s successful shareholder revolt.
Others likely to get mention as Iger’s successor include Facebook Inc.
