Conventional wisdom in the business world has been that you don't want your CEO to be a lame duck. If the CEO is about to retire, you want a successor in place so that employees, vendors, licensors, and investors know who's going to be making the big-money decisions about spending and investments for the years to come. No one wants to be the one in a company on the hook for a multi-million or multi-billion dollar project without the support of the CEO. If you're taking on a multi-year project for which the current CEO won't be around, you need to know that you at least have the support of the incoming CEO. Otherwise, you're risking the future of the project... and your career with the company.
Iger's three times now announced a departure date from Disney, pushing that date further back with each announcement. Perhaps this is just a passive-aggressive way of walking away from the decision to retire at all. After all, Iger's 63 now — relatively young for a CEO. Disney's making sick money with him in charge and the stock market seems perfectly happy with Iger running the show. Disney's been making huge acquisitions: Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. It's been investing billions in cruise ships and its theme parks. There doesn't seem to be any loss of momentum at the company. And there's no clear choice to succeed Iger, either. Disney's been grooming Tom Staggs and Jay Rasulo as potential successors, with each serving as chief financial officer and the chairman of Disney Parks during Iger's tenure.
If there's one thing to be said about Disney under Bob Iger's leadership, it's that the company is making money. But if there's a knock on Iger, it's that under him the company seems to be only about making money. There's none of the futurism that Walt brought in his final years, the steadfast commitment to family entertainment of the Card Walker era, or the world-conquering expansion of the early Michael Eisner years. Under Iger, Disney rides its big-money franchises for everything they are worth.
Some Walt Disney World fans complain that Iger hasn't spent enough money to refurbish and expand that resort. Under Iger, Disney spends money to make money — not to win imaginary points from Disney fans on message boards. Initiatives such as MyMagic+, the New Fantasyland, and Disney Springs are directed at improving long-term financial performance at a resort that continues to lead the world in attendance and revenue. Iger's Disney is all about getting people to spend more money, not winning praise from critics while fans spend the same (or less!) on the company.
But could Disney being doing even more? Might Staggs or Rasulo provide a spark that would inspire the company to both greater commercial success while improving its critical appeal? Is there someone else at the company who could do better in the CEO role? Or does Disney need an outsider's leadership to achieve its potential?
It's Vote of the Week time. If you'd like to see someone other that Iger, Rasulo, or Staggs lead the Mouse House, tell us that name in the comments.
It's your turn to campaign for the Disney CEO job, in the comments. Tell us how you'd like to see the Walt Disney Company run!
let the voting begin!!!
I was trying to get at the urban planning/tech development work being done by WED in anticipation of Epcot in the 1960s -- the stuff that really seemed to uh, animate, Walt before he was frozen in 1966. By the way, when is Vol. 2 coming out? ;^)
I will agree with Robert though that Iger seems to only care about money. It is under him that EPCOT has been a little lost.
Fortune named him the “Fortune 500: Tech Top Visionary.”
Business Insider listed him among the "10 Most Tech-Savvy Media CEOs."
With Mr. Niles we will get popcorn with all kind of flavors and Disney Sea.
In other words, someone who cares about something besides the almighty dollar.
*-One I prefer most
Movie wise they're making huge money, and even the occasional flop (Lone Ranger, John Carter) is an acceptable thing given that those were attempts at starting new franchises. I think they should broaden their cinematic endeavours to make more "independent" films. Although they dont make huge dollars, its a way of fostering new talent and enriches the culture of their movie making department.
The US economy is picking up so with them being in such a good financial position I think they should now look at an expanding their holiday facilities.
They need to develop their cruise line to offer a more global fleet, and perhaps have different classes of ships with a range targeting the non-family cruiser.
I think they should develop an alpine DVC "facility", either in Colorado or around Park City Utah. Tie it in with a ski resort (or maybe buy a resort) to offer a Disney experience in the snow. And yes, a Frozen tie in would be inevitable here, but shouldn't dominate (who knows what the longevity of Frozen may be).
They obviously need new development at their parks, and whilst they don't need to build as rapidly as Universal, they need to reach and exceed the bar set by Universal now in terms of quality.
Epcot should maintain its current grounding in reality, but with a boost from their IP. I think the new Frozen ride should have characters from frozen visiting Norway, rather than setting it in an artificial environment. Ratatouille should be developed in France.
Avatar probably can't match HP in terms of interactive theming, but should be the pinnacle of experience of a completely alien environment. Star Wars land should be officially announced with a time frame, even if they are waiting for the new movies.
Finally, open a third gate on the West Coast, no matter how costly it will still make money. Heroes and Villains is a popular theme and could obviously incorporate Marvel and Star Wars.
However. The more I think about it, the more sense I think that he would make. He shares Walt's ability to see what "everyman" wants. Tom can reach down and find that child-like wonder that Walt had in his vision of what Disney Studios and the Disney Parks could and should be. He understands the reason for putting out quality products, not just junk that makes money. He has a reputation for honesty.
And yes, he understands money. Look at the movies which he has directed, produced, and starred in. In producing series such as Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and From the Earth to the Moon, he has shown that he can manage highly complex projects.
People like him. Now, the Wall Street folks may not think that is important, but the Disney brand is one which relies upon people trusting Disney.
The hard part would be to convince him to take the job. Oh yeah, and to convince the Disney suits that things are going to change.
"Tom Hanks?" I mean ... seriously?
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