Disney’s Bob Iger Quits Top Job; How He Unified the “Magic Kingdom”

By Pat Savage

Bob Iger quit the top job at Disney last week, but his legacy will live on for quite some time.

After 14 years as Disney’s chief executive officer, he referred to his job at the company as “a brand manager” in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. But that’s not all of it by any stretch.

“A quartet of multibillion-dollar acquisitions during Mr. Iger’s tenure assembled Buzz Lightyear, Captain America, Princess Leia and Bart Simpson on Disney’s studio lot in Burbank, Calif.,” the Journal reported. “In doing so, Mr. Iger, 69, ran the entertainment conglomerate with a laser focus on developing franchises that could be exploited across multiple divisions, redefining what it meant to be a successful Hollywood executive. Instead of being a smooth talker able to charm and cajole stars and directors, Mr. Iger put protection of the brand above all else. Stars such as Robert Downey Jr. once ruled Hollywood; at Mr. Iger’s Disney, Iron Man was worth more.”

Robert Allen Iger, born February 10, 1951 served as the President of ABC Television from 1994 to 1995, and as President/COO of Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. from 1995 until Disney’s acquisition of the company in 1996. He was named President and COO of Disney in 2000, and later succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005, after a successful effort by Roy E. Disney to shake up the management of the company. As part of his yearly compensation, Iger earned $44.9 million in 2015. During his tenure, Disney broadened the company’s roster of intellectual properties and its presence in international markets; Iger oversaw the acquisitions of Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion, Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion, Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.06 billion, and 21st Century Fox in 2019 for $71.3 billion, as well as the expansion of the company’s theme park resorts in East Asia, with the introduction of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort in 2005 and 2016, respectively.

In an industry known for its divergent opinions, opinions of Iger’s legacy vary surprisingly little. How did he make it to the pinnacle? 

“The answer, according to those who worked with Iger over the years, lies in his discipline, his thoughtful and straightforward management style and a knack for forging trust with business partners — including former adversaries,” noted the LA Times. “He has charisma, and he is smarter than he thinks he is,” said Alan Horn, co-chairman of Walt Disney Studios, who joined the company in 2012. “And Bob possesses both courage and vision, which is rare. Few people have both.”