Bob Chapek comments publicly about his time as CEO of Disney

Sep 06, 2023 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Wednesday September 6, 2023 10:52am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

In one of the most in-depth retellings of the turmoil surrounding the CEO role at Disney, CNBC shares in great detail the events that led to the firing of Bob Chapek, and the return of Bob Iger as Disney's CEO. 

 

The inside story is based on conversations with more than two dozen people who worked closely with Iger and Chapek between 2020 and 2022.

Most of the key players declined to comment on the report, but Chapek did add to the account via a brief comment made by a spokesperson.

"Bob is proud of the work he did in the course of his 30-year career at Disney, particularly during his nearly three-year run as CEO, steering the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, and setting the course for business transformation as he and his team took the disruptive yet necessary steps for business revitalization and long-term growth."

The CNBC story by Alex Sherman also suggests that in Chapek's final weeks as CEO, board members had set up discussions with Disney division heads, including Parks boss Josh D'Amaro, who all told board members that they no longer supported Chapek as CEO.

Read the full story "Disney's wildest ride: Iger, Chapek and the making of an epic succession mess" at CNBC.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

    View all comments →

    Biff2155 days ago

    Always my favorite part of these commercials… …you’re kidding, we couldn’t tell! 🤣

    Disone5 days ago

    Perhaps meant the resort's total not the individual theme park's. DL, DCA, and DTD all combined .

    Sirwalterraleigh5 days ago

    Wrong, how?

    JD805 days ago

    I would be surprised if TEA was wrong by nearly 10-12M people.

    Sirwalterraleigh6 days ago

    Everything Disney on good morning America is a commercial. They pay for it…so it makes sense. But never “journalism”

    Disney Analyst6 days ago

    This is why I was hoping some people in the know could offer clarity. Is this PR speak? Is this Disneyland resort? Or Disneyland. Etc.

    Sirwalterraleigh6 days ago

    Disneyland is the name of the whole complex also

    Sirwalterraleigh6 days ago

    If you’re gonna take everything that the wease says on good morning America on abc as NOT being for PR…might I interest you in some prime swampland? Good price…but just for YOU 😉

    Disney Analyst6 days ago

    Very possible. His exact words at the ceremony today were “he would be awestruck at the fact that nearly 30 million guests go through the gates of this beloved Disneyland, each year”. Which makes it sounds like Disneyland proper, but maybe internally they just see both gates as “Disneyland”. 🧐

    Sirwalterraleigh6 days ago

    That’s combined with California adventure and everyone that streams through downtown

    LSLS6 days ago

    I'll bet it's this. You combine the two park, 2023 was almost 28 million people.

    Ayla6 days ago

    What does TEA/AECOM report?

    Comped6 days ago

    MK significantly under-reports. I'm not sure I can say how much publicly, but I was told a number that is far higher than TEA reports.

    the_rich6 days ago

    Could it be possible he meant Disneyland resort as a whole because that would 30 million based on the reports.