Who is Bob Iger?
FORMER Disney CEO Bob Iger has returned to the company at the age of 72.
The New York businessman, who retired after 15 years as chief executive in February 2020, agreed in November 2022 to serve as CEO once more, replacing Bob Chapek.
Who is Bob Iger?
Bob Iger is a businessman, born on February 10, 1951, in New York City.
Iger started life making "$150 a week" at ABC in 1974 as a studio supervisor at 23 years old.
From 1994 to 1995, Iger served as the president and chief operating officer for ABC before Disney bought it out.
In 2000, Iger was named the president of Disney before he stepped into his well-known role as CEO in 2005.
Iger served as Disney's CEO for 15 years, leading the media company through massive acquisitions, and the launch of Disney+, before stepping down in 2020.
But on November 20, 2022, Disney announced his return in a statement.
The board of directors decided that as the conglomerate "embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead".
Iger said: "I am deeply honored to be asked to again lead this remarkable team... through unrivaled, bold storytelling,"
Iger replaces Bob Chapek, with the announcement causing Disney shares to surge.
He originally agreed to a two-year term, but on July 12, 2023, Disney extended the CEO's contract through 2026.
Since Iger replaced Chapek, the returned CEO has made thousands of layoffs in an attempt to reconstruct the company.
In a memo to employees obtained by , Iger wrote: "We’ve made important and sometimes difficult decisions to address some existing structural and efficiency issues, and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to achieve together.
"But there is more to accomplish before this transformative work is complete, and I am committed to seeing this through."
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What is his net worth and how did he make his money?
He has come a long way since then and now has a reported net worth of $350million.
Iger rose through the ranks at ABC in New York through sports, then he took a job as head of ABC Entertainment in 1986 according to .
Under Iger's leadership, Disney's stock rose fivefold in 15 years.
It went from $24 a share to $144 per share by July 2019.
He repaired relationships with Pixar, then acquired them in 2006, linking them with Steve Jobs, who had the majority sharehold in Pixar.
Iger was on the board of Apple between 2011 and 2019.
He was behind bringing Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm to Disney.
The company smashed the box office with the production of movie franchises like The Avengers (Marvel) and Star Wars.
He acquired 21st Century Fox in March 2019, gaining the controlling stake in Hulu at the same time.
What was his salary as CEO of Disney?
Upon becoming the top dog at Disney in 2005 Iger made $22million along with an additional $2.9million in stock.
As CEO of Disney, Iger made $65.6million in 2018 - $39.3m in salary and $26.3m in stock - according to .
This was boosted by his closure of the $71.3billion Fox merger in March 2019.
This made him the third highest-paid CEO in 2019, with combined earnings at 1,424 times that of the average Disney employee.
Why did Bob Iger step down as CEO of The Disney Company?
Iger was CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 2005 to 2020, he relinquished the position to Bob Chapek.
Despite stepping down as CEO in February 2020, Iger remained chairperson until December 31, 2021.
While speaking with CNBC, he detailed his reasons for giving up the position.
Iger told the outlet, "Over time, I started listening less and maybe with a little less tolerance of other people’s opinions, maybe because of getting a little bit more overconfident in my own, which is sometimes what happens when you get built up."
He continued: "I became a little bit more dismissive of other people’s opinions than I should have been."
"That was an early sign that it was time. It wasn’t the reason I left, but it was a contributing factor."
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