Disney’s board of directors voted unanimously to extend Chapek’s contract as CEO for another three years, the company said Tuesday. His new contract begins on July 1 and runs until 2025. The news is remarkable not only because Disney is one of the largest and best-known media companies in the world, but also because the company has experienced some mistakes. very public since Chapek began his term in 2020. This raised some questions in Hollywood about whether Disney would stay with Chapek once his contact ended next year.
The Disney board removed all doubts on Tuesday.
“Disney had a hard hand in the pandemic, but with Bob at the helm, our businesses, from parks to streaming, not only weathered the storm, but emerged in a position of strength,” the president said. of Disney board Susan Arnold in a statement. Tuesday. “At this important time of growth and transformation, the Board is committed to keeping Disney on the path to success that it continues today, and Bob’s leadership is key to achieving that goal.”
Arnold added that “Bob is the right leader at the right time” for the company and the board has “full confidence in him and his management team.”
Chapek, 63, responded to the renewal by saying that leading Disney is “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I started at Disney almost 30 years ago and today I have the privilege of leading one of the largest and most dynamic companies in the world, bringing joy to millions of people around the world,” Chapek said in a statement.
Chapek is the seventh CEO in Disney’s nearly 100-year history and served as chair of Disney’s parks, experiences and products unit before taking over as CEO.
Chapek’s turbulent and transformative tenure
Chapek took over Disney (DIS) in February 2020 after then-CEO Bob Iger stepped down. If following Iger’s legendary career was not a sufficient challenge, Chapek took the reins at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic disrupted the global economy and Hollywood, but Disney, due to its reliance on in-person experiences, was especially affected. The company saw the global health crisis shut down its theme parks around the world and its list of hugely successful films was delayed.
However, the company and Chapek had a lifeboat thanks to Disney +.
Subscriptions to the company’s new streaming service skyrocketed during the pandemic, boosting it to the status of a major player in the streaming market with 137.7 million subscribers worldwide.
However, Chapek found himself facing problems as a CEO other than the pandemic.
The company found itself fighting one of its stars when Scarlett Johansson sued Disney alleging that the company breached its contract with the release of the highly anticipated Marvel superhero film “Black Widow” in its streaming service, Disney +, instead of in theaters. The lawsuit was finally settled. Most notably, Chapek and Disney found themselves in the middle of a political storm in March over the company’s response to the controversial Florida bill called “Don’t Say Gay”.
Chapek had spoken out, but did not directly condemn, the controversial “Parents’ Rights to Education ”bill, which would ban state educators from debates about sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms.
Disney employs 75,000 people in Florida, and the company and Chapek saw a reaction from employees, which caused their employees to run away. Chapek apologized for the company’s lukewarm response to the bill, opening the door to a showdown between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the company.
These mistakes and the drop in Disney shares so far this year led to talk about Chapek’s future with the company. Now, however, Disney’s future includes Chapek at the helm until at least 2025.