Bob Iger will step down as Disney (NYSE: DIS) CEO and assume the role of executive chairman, Disney announced on Tuesday.
Bob Chapek, who most recently served as chairman of Disney parks, experiences and products, will assume the role of CEO, effective immediately, Disney announced.
Iger will remain executive chairman of Disney through the end of 2021, according to the company. Iger has been instrumental in making Disney a significant player in the streaming space with the launch of Disney+.
"With the successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO," Iger said in a statement.
Chapek, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, is taking over as CEO, something observers call surprising and confusing. Disney’s future is supposed to be streaming — not theme parks.
Media industry insiders almost unanimously expected Kevin Mayer to be Iger’s heir. Mayer has been running Disney’s streaming services as the company’s chairman of direct-to-consumer and international.
Watchers say choosing the guy who runs parks over the guy who runs streaming is odd because of the signal it sends to investors. Disney is supposed to be a high-flying technology-based streaming company now.
The strategy is working. Not rewarding Mayer, who has spent more than two decades at Disney, is odd.
Investors are reportedly not impressed, sending the stocks down $1.08 to $127.11
