In case you missed it, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek has stepped down from his position and has been replaced by former CEO Bob Iger.
©Reuters
The Disney Board of Directors announced this change late in the evening on November 20th, noting that Bob Iger would resume his role as CEO effective immediately, and Disney’s stock values proceeded to increase significantly the following Monday morning. Many people have been commenting on this change and what it could mean for the future of The Walt Disney Company, and we’ve compiled some of the reactions we’ve found across social media.
Former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner welcomed back Bob Iger to Disney.
Welcome back to Disney, @RobertIger!
— Michael Eisner (@Michael_Eisner) November 21, 2022
Jessica Lessin, the founder of The Information publication, tweeted her thoughts about the Disney Board of Directors’ decision.
Bob Iger is an incredible CEO but the fact there is literally one person in the world the board thinks is capable of running Disney is a head scratcher and a failure of some sort of internal system there over the past decade.
— Jessica Lessin (@Jessicalessin) November 21, 2022
Former Walt Disney Imagineer Tom K. Morris tweeted about his personal experience with former CEO Bob Chapek. He also replied to one tweet, noting that in his experience, former Walt Disney Company CEOs Michael Eisner, Michael Ovitz, and now current CEO Bob Iger made efforts to get to know all the Imagineers.
I don’t cry about why I’m not at WDI anymore bc I did feel it was time to leave, but that guy never even took 30 secs to stop in and introduce himself let alone learn my history or what I had accomplished, something all the other park leaders and CEO’s made it a point to do. 🎻🙊
— Tom K Morris (@TomKMorris) November 21, 2022
Animator Matt Braly, the creator of the Disney+ animated series Amphibia, tweeted about the animation industry’s reaction to the news.
I cannot tell you how elated the entire animation industry is to see this man gone lmao
— Matt Braly (@Radrappy) November 21, 2022
Matt Martin, Sr. Creative Executive of Lucasfilm, is already getting emails from the new CEO.
There’s something oddly comforting about seeing “A Message from Bob Iger” in my inbox again.
— Matt Martin (@missingwords) November 21, 2022
Josh Gad, who played Le Fou in Beauty and the Beast and is also the voice of Olaf in Frozen, seems very happy about the news.
I don't think I've ever been so happy. Welcome home @RobertIger ❤️❤️❤️- the GOAT is back!!!!
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) November 21, 2022
Gad also shared the news on Instagram, and celebrities like John Stamos, Lance Bass, and January Jones, as well as Trent Correy, Director and Animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios, commented.
©Josh Gad on Instagram
The change in CEO followed the major financial hit reported during Disney’s earnings call on November 8th, with the company announcing a loss of $1.5 billion in their streaming division. Although former CEO Bob Chapek and current CFO Christine McCarthy noted the Disney+ price increase that will go into effect on December 8th, it appears that vocal investors’ disappointment in the earnings report called for a change in CEO.
©CNBC
At this time, it’s unknown what changes Iger plans to make, but we’ll be watching closely for future announcements and updates. Keep following DFB for more Disney news and updates!
Bob Iger is back at Disney. Here’s what can change — and what won’t.
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I mean in terms of Tom’s comment, Chapek took over during the pandemic. I didn’t even meet my one new teammate who was my assistant until over a year into her joining the team. But Twitter clout is about to become irrelevant, so he might as well ride it while he can