Friday, October 7, 2011

Iger's End And Openings...

Power corrupts, absolute power gets drunk on it...






Well Bob Iger has signed a two/three year extension of his contract...

But he's done something that Michael Eisner never did. He gave us an end game. Iger announced that he will gain the title of Chairman as of next year, and will leg go of the reigns of power as CEO on March 31, 2015. He will then stay on as Chairman of the Walt Disney Company at least till this new contract expires in June, 2016.

This is in stark contrast to Eisner who tried to maintain his hold on power well after he should have resigned. It also sets up a debate as to whom will become the next CEO. The obvious choices are Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman, Tom Staggs and Dark Lord of the Sith, err, I mean Chief Financial Officer, Jay Rasulo. It's my belief that it will be Tom Staggs who gets the title as it appears he's a much better fit for the role. Jay belongs over in the bean counting department dealing with the numbers. Staggs has proven himself to be a savvy Suit working the parks and getting much respect from those that he's had dealings with.

It may be interesting to see which Suit comes out in the lead over the next four years...

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's possible that Staggs or Rusulo could move to the president title until 2015.
Per The Wall Street Journal:

"I expect Jay Rasulo or Tom Staggs to be named the subsequent CEO - or president first," said Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce, who highlighted Disney's deep management bench. "Anne Sweeney or George Bodenheimer, who currently co-run the TV properties, could likely be shifted into the parks or CFO role then."

Connie Moreno said...

God, please don't let it be a bean counter....

Anonymous said...

Please stop trying to convince us that Iger is any better than Eisner.

And that Tom Staggs actually deserves the position of CEO.

Anonymous said...

Did any of the Aulani financial issues develop while Staggs was CFO?

olegc said...

well, iger has been better than eisner in that, essentially, he let divisions get things done (for lack of a simpler explanation). Perfect, Walt-like? probably not but yes better than end-game Eisner.

On another note - I would think Ross has an outside shot. Eiger came from TV and it's Ross who started in TV and is now in Motion Pictures and seems to have tried to tie lots of divisions together. THough, with the lack of organization at D23 that Disney Pictures was responsible for (last year was Park/Resorts) maybe it's not as clear cut ;-).

Anonymous said...

I thought Iger was just like Eisner myself when he first got the job, but Iger at least lets each department do what it does best without getting in the way like Eisner did. Iger's philosophy was is hire people who are better than you are for the jobs to fill. He said that the only time he'd get in a department's way is if they are underperforming or things are becoming unproductive.

Plus, Eisner's arrogance caused strained relations with Lucasfilm as well as Pixar, the latter which was going to end its relationship with Disney and find another distribution after its then current contract was up.

Once Iger became CEO, he reconciled Disney's relationship with Pixar and bought it for $7 billion and lets Pixar have creative reign due to their track record of success.

And he made John Lasseter head of Disney animation and a great creative force for the Disney Parks. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland's Magic Kingdom is more detailed than originally planned due to this. Also, two parks: Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios have the new Star Tours 2.0. Not to mention the $1 billion renovation of California Adventure, correcting Eisner and Paul Pressler's mistake.

Anonymous said...

There is one more person that no one has mention, and that is John Lassater.

And why he a good choice and pick? Well with a great record of animated features for Pixar, and Disney lately, also his vision over Parks and Resorts and other related projects, he is a Way Way better candidate than Rasulo.

Anonymous said...

Interesting how you keep mentioning "suit" when the very idea of a suit running this company runs contrary to the kind of person should fill that position.

Anonymous said...

Curiously...no mention of Lasseter

Edward Cat Mullsitover said...

That's because Lasseter doesn't want the job. He doesn't want to have to deal with all the none creative paper pushing and dealing with producers fighting for release dates and all the other things that would take him away from animation and the parks.

Not going to happen.

Anonymous said...

I'll bet the big-buck purchase of Avatar was the final straw. Iger thinks he has to look outside the Disney studio to find a property to rival Harry Potter. Then the Lion King reissue comes out and blows away the box office, making much more moolah than anyone expected and making Iger look like a fool. Disney has PLENTY of properties to make theme park attractions out of. Especially for Animal Kingdom. Um, like the Lion King? Or Jungle Book? The man's an idiot and thank god he's leaving. Only wish he was leaving sooner.

Anonymous said...

To the Anonymous above...

You're an idiot and are completely wrong!

Anonymous said...

I always find it funny how people on the internet are always jumping at the chance to call other people on the internet idiots with no back up on why they believe they're idiots.