Walt Disney Co.’s (DIS) board of directors has voted to extend chief executive officer (CEO) Bob Iger’s contract through 2026, which is two years longer than initially planned.
Iger came out of retirement late last year to retake the helm of Disney and said at the time that he intended to only stay in the top job for two years. Iger had also said that finding his eventual successor was his top priority.
Iger returned to Disney in November 2022, retaking the CEO job from Bob Chapek, who succeeded him in 2020. Chapek was fired by Disney’s board after a series of public missteps at the Mouse House.
Iger has a history of succession drama. On four separate occasions between 2013 and 2017, he extended his tenure as Disney’s CEO after saying he planned to retire.
Currently, Iger is grappling with an upheaval in the media sector. Disney has had to deal with a shifting landscape that is seeing advertising dollars disappear as consumers cancel their cable subscriptions in favor of streaming services.
However, streaming has also gotten difficult to navigate as spending on content has grown and consumers become more selective about their entertainment choices.
Since his return to Disney, Iger has undertaken a broad restructuring of the company, including 7,000 layoffs announced earlier this year. Disney has also been removing programming from its various streaming services to save money.
Disney’s stock was little changed on news of Iger’s contract extension. Over the last 12 months, the company’s share price has declined 3% to trade at $90.15 U.S.
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