As Disney faces challenging times in terms of revenue slowdown, Bob Iger is once again here to provide a strategic direction for the company.
In a major announcement over the weekend, the media empire The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced that it getting Bob Iger back to lead the company as the Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Iger has been popular as one of the most notable CEOs of the company and will be taking the reigns again from former CEO Bob Chapek.
Previously, Iger served as the CEO of Disney for 15 long years and has been instrumental in key changes within the organization. Iger left Disney two years back in 2020 while joining as a director, advisor and investor in Genies, a digital avatar platform running on Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain.
Bob Iger is also popular in the crypto community and is one of the major backers of the Metaverse developments. In a statement on Sunday night, Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Disney, said:
“We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period.”
Mr. Iger’s reappointment comes as the company has been going through major turbulence recently. During the fiscal Q4 2022, Disney fell short of earnings and profit expectations. The company’s streaming business reported a loss of $1.5 billion.
Soon after its Q4 results, the company’s stock tanked by over 10% making a new yearly low of $86.75 earlier this month. So far, the DIS stock price has dropped by more than 40% year-to-date.
Disney and Metaverse
The media entertainment giant is closely watching all the developments taking place in the Metaverse space. Last December, Walt Disney filed a patent for a “virtual-world simulator in a real-world venue”.
The filing noted that visitors to the Disney theme park will be able to use their mobiles to generate and project personalized 3D effects onto nearby physical spaces. Earlier in September, former Disney CEO Chapek also shared the company’s vision for the Metaverse.
Walt Disney is looking to utilize data from theme park visits and its consumers’ streaming habits in its metaverse initiative. The company wants to provide personalized entertainment experiences, including from its Marvel and Lucasfilm studios.
It will be interesting to see if Iger can take these plans further and how fast Disney is willing to move ahead in the Metaverse space. However, Iger’s first focus as the CEO will be working with the board to set a strategic direction for the company.
Reports also suggest that Iger will be here as the CEO of Disney for a temporary period. He will also work with the board to set up a successor.
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