Though no outsiders were present, chatter about Iger’s talk soon began to seep through Hollywood. His words were interpreted as a shot at Chapek. Though a 28-year Disney veteran who most recently had overseen the theme parks and resorts, Chapek was an outsider in Hollywood. Known for cutting costs and raising prices, he was regarded by many with distrust if not outright hostility.
Sources who attended the meeting say Chapek did not make such a bald declaration. They say he was merely being himself: a numbers-oriented, bottom-line-focused businessman lacking creative experience and without Iger’s polish and flair. Nonetheless, the retreat anecdote dovetailed with a narrative that was already taking hold among Iger confidants: that he had lost faith in Chapek and that his speech before the board was “a final warning” that Disney was veering off course.
Iger won’t address the Aulani meeting but says from his standpoint, the transition has gone as planned: He has continued to oversee the creative side as Chapek took on the day-to-day running of the company. “The whole thing was sort of my construct with ultimate buy-in and full support of the board,” Iger says of the succession plan. “I would be around to mentor him for a year and a half while I was concentrating on the creative.
Chapek declined to comment on the process. But even as Iger lingered, Chapek moved quickly to seize control, reorganizing the company in a way that diminished the power of some key Iger lieutenants as others have exited. “Every creative person is leaving or losing power,” laments one former high-level Disney exec.
The challenge confronting Chapek, and the leaders of every other legacy entertainment company, is daunting: They must serve Wall Street’s obsession with building their streaming services without alienating creatives, who still want a shot at the mind-bending paydays that come with success under a traditional model. In October 2020, major shareholder and activist investor Dan Loeb began to pressure Disney to double its investment in content for Disney+.
Where's Nikki Finke when you need her?
Moving whole divisions to Florida during a pandemic? Shows no empathy for workers
Chapeks a joke.
Is Iger the Putin of Disney?
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