Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek elected to The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors

Apr 16, 2020 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Thursday April 16, 2020 7:27am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors has elected Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek to the Board.

“Bob Chapek has demonstrated remarkable leadership in the face of unprecedented challenges that were unimaginable when he became CEO just seven weeks ago, and we’ve watched him navigate this very complex situation with decisiveness and compassion. We are pleased to add Bob to the Board, as we stated we would when he was named CEO,” said Susan Arnold, independent Lead Director of the Disney Board, and Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board.

Bob Chapek was named Chief Executive Officer in late February, just weeks before the coronavirus began to impact operations of the entire company.

The addition of Chapek to the board comes days after a New York Times piece suggested that Bob Iger had assumed control of the company again in efforts to stabilize the organization during the current crisis.

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el_superApr 16, 2020

I don't think much stock should be placed on the NYT article. There never was any clear indication if Iger gave up any of the powers he was supposedly taking back. Iger taking the title of "Executive Chairman" was unusual enough as to not give any clear indication of what exactly that role meant, so it's hard to gauge now what powers are supposed to lie with him, versus the CEO. I think the easier to understand and most likely scenario is that Chapek needed more training and experience to be CEO before being allowed to fly solo, and that, as his trainer, Iger was still technically supposed to be watching over his shoulder and making decisions.

HauntedPirateApr 16, 2020

I understand that. But this comes on the heels of the NYT and Barron's articles which stated Iger was steering the ship more than Chapek right now. If it's truly a vote of confidence in Chapek, then the reports of Iger's pseudo-return to power are either false or exaggerated. Or this isn't truly a vote of confidence in Chapek and could be seen as a way to make the optics look good so the stock price can rebound. Or maybe the articles on Iger are supposed to accomplish that (he is the largest single shareholder...). 🤔 In other words, to me this is as clear as mud. 🤣

THEMEPARKPIONEERApr 16, 2020

Where’s my LIGHT PARADE?!?!?!?!? Come on it’s people like who love your park and been loyal regular customers for years that help your customer base maintain and grow, read the forums, throw us a bone here and there.

el_superApr 16, 2020

It's sort of a formality for the CEO.

seascapeApr 16, 2020

It is a vote of confidence in him and his selection.

HauntedPirateApr 16, 2020

Something doesn’t smell right with this...