Bob Iger is hailed as one of the greatest CEOs of his generation. As Mr. Iger prepares to (finally) step down as Disney’s CEO and formally hand over the reins to former park director Josh D’Amaro on March 18, he will come with a strong track record of successfully pulling off major M&A deals and bringing media conglomerates into the streaming era.
But while he has been praised for his smooth CEO transition at Disney, one of the downsides to an otherwise stellar report card is how he mishandled the handoff to his then-chosen successor, Bob Chapek, in 2020.
“If the succession had gone well with Capek, Mr. Iger would have become just a hero at this point. It’s like, ‘Everything was right,'” said Henning Piezunka, an associate professor of management at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania who studies corporate succession. Iger “probably stayed too long. He succeeded in everything but his successor.”
Mr. Iger, who turned 75 last month, began his career at ABC in 1974, when Mr. D’Amaro was an infant. In October 2005, Iger was named CEO of Disney for the first time. After nearly 15 years of impressive performance, he stepped down from his role in February 2020, and Chapek (who, like D’Amaro, had previously headed the parks division) became CEO. Mr. Iger officially retired at the end of 2021. However, in November 2022, Disney’s board reinstated Iger to replace Chapek, who was fired after a series of missteps.
Under Iger’s first term, Disney made a series of important and ultimately extremely profitable acquisitions. Pixar ($7.4 billion) in January 2006; Marvel Entertainment ($4 billion) in December 2009; and Lucasfilm ($4 billion) in December 2012.
“It’s absolutely true that he was an innovative CEO during his first tenure,” said Sridhar Tayur, a professor of business administration at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. “He didn’t just run Disney; he redesigned the company.” Iger understood “the importance of creators” and the importance of major entertainment franchises, Tayul said. “I think he understands the nitty gritty secret sauce that Disney needs.”
The deal led by Mr. Iger was “bold. It was breathtaking,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at Yale School of Management. In particular, Mr. Iger’s deal with Pixar, in which he negotiated the sale of the company with Steve Jobs, “made a huge contribution to the revival of Disney Animation,” which had become very risk-averse, he says.
Each of these acquisitions has been highly successful, according to a 2024 analysis by the CEO Institute at the Yale School of Management. Disney generates more than $40 billion in direct revenue from Pixar, and that doesn’t even take into account derivative revenue streams such as park attractions and synergies with other Disney franchises. Marvel contributed $13 billion and Lucasfilm brought in $12 billion.
Iger’s former boss and mentor, Michael Eisner, built Disney through internal development rather than acquisition. The Eiger changed that. “Through M&A, you can get more bang for your buck, faster, but you have to do it right,” said Dr. Anne Mooney Murphy, professor of management at the Stevens Institute of Technology. “Iger executed his M&A strategy well…in sharp contrast to Eisner.”
Mr. Iger’s appointment as Disney’s CEO in 2005 was “really a feat of diplomacy on his part,” Mr. Sonnenfeld added. Mr. Eisner was “becoming a little bit monarchical” and could have been “threatened by the rise of Mr. Iger.” When Eisner later “disposed of” Iger in his biography, Sonnenfeld said, “It freed Iger to be independent.”
Bob Iger and Mickey Mouse attend the world premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest” at Disneyland in Anaheim, California on June 24, 2006.
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Not all of Iger’s deal paid off. In 2014, Disney wanted to capitalize on the rise in YouTube creator content and acquired multichannel network company Maker Studios, ultimately paying $675 million. Maker was supposed to offer Disney “an unparalleled combination of advanced technology and programming expertise and capabilities” in short videos, Iger said at the time. But because the models didn’t have legs, Maker Studios’ business steadily declined.
And then there’s 21st Century Fox. Some on Wall Street think Disney is significantly overpaying. The $71 billion deal was struck in 2019 and came amid the decline of linear television (which has continued to decline ever since). The Fox deal was heavily criticized by activist investor Nelson Peltz, who unsuccessfully fought Iger for two seats on Disney’s board in 2024. Mr. Peltz’s Trian Partners said the deal with Fox was “strategically flawed” and said it was “skeptical that Disney was able to achieve its targeted synergies and EPS growth, given the decline in Disney’s media profitability post-acquisition.” The investment firm also alleged that Disney created a material conflict of interest by creating “strong financial incentives for Mr. Iger to pursue his contract with Fox regardless of his prospects.”
Mr. Peltz “had a lot of bravado in the locker room,” but Mr. Sonnenfeld said he “got the math wrong” when it came to Disney’s acquisition of Fox.
According to a Yale University analysis, Disney spent nearly $45 billion on 21st Century Fox assets (after asset sales, including Disney’s sale of Fox’s regional sports networks to Sinclair for $11 billion and Fox’s Sky stake to Comcast for $15 billion). Additionally, Disney acquired significant assets in the deal, including Fox’s 30% stake in Hulu. Disney ended up acquiring 100% of Hulu after acquiring Comcast’s stock last year (for a much lower amount than Comcast was seeking). Sonnenfeld said the deal with Fox “paid for itself within a year,” assuming immediate revenues, cost savings and synergies of six times $6 billion, including revenue from films such as James Cameron’s “Avatar” and “The Simpsons.”
Disney now has more content engines, such as FX, that can feed content into Hulu, which the company is incorporating into Disney+. Top television executive Dana Walden also joined Disney through the acquisition of Fox. Mr. Walden, who had been considered as Mr. Iger’s successor, will become the company’s first chief creative officer under CEO D’Amaro.
Regarding Čapek’s failure, Piezunka said it was a mistake to keep Iger as chairman until the end of 2021. “The fact that for the first time they recognized the need to keep Mr. Iger as chairman is not a good sign. They have already admitted that this person is not fit for the job,” he says. Now, “the company appears to be ready for a successor.”
Indeed, Capek faced unprecedented challenges. He became Disney’s CEO several months before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak began in the United States. The coronavirus outbreak effectively wiped out Disney’s theme park and theatrical film businesses for several months. But Chapek also failed in his “Don’t Say Gay” battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He reorganized Disney’s creative team and made it report to a central distribution group, which was unpopular within the company. And he has a strained relationship with Hollywood talent, most notably a lawsuit from Scarlett Johansson who accused Disney of defrauding her of millions of dollars when she released Black Widow directly on Disney+.
After Mr. Iger returned as Disney’s CEO in early 2023, the executive cut jobs at the company and dismantled Chapek’s management structure by creating Disney Entertainment, led by co-chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bergman. Mr. Iger said he had to resolve problems at the company, some of which were due to “decisions made by my predecessor.”
Mr. Iger has at times angered the creative community, such as when he said it was “unrealistic” that the Hollywood Writers and Actors Guild would go on strike in mid-2023. “We’ve talked about the disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the ongoing recovery from COVID-19, and we’re not fully back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Iger said at the time.
But in general, Iger is “good at avoiding conflict and avoiding controversy…He’s really good at impression management,” says Murphy of Stevens.
In his second stint as CEO, Mr. Iger pushed back against Mr. DeSantis’ anti-Disney campaign, and in March 2024, Disney reached a settlement with the state of Florida in a legal battle over the special district that governs Walt Disney World. Yale’s Sonnenfeld said: “He speaks to the moral core of the company…He was able to work with DeSantis to unravel that mess and strengthen the values of its employees and customers.”
Sonnenfeld said there are only a few CEOs who are not only visionary leaders, but also “the moral pillars of integrity and respect.” “And there’s no one like Bob Iger.”
Disney said Mr. Iger’s second tenure has been a strong one, and that he and his senior management team have made the company more agile and well-positioned for long-term growth.
Over the past three fiscal years, Disney has achieved a compound annual growth rate of adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 19%. The company also reinstated its dividend, increasing it annually starting in 2023. In the past two years, Disney has distributed five global franchise films, including Inside Head 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Moana 2, Zootopia 2, and Avatar: Fire and Ash, which have grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office. However, company observers point out that Disney’s biggest hits are sequels, and the company needs new IP.
Iger leaves Disney after overseeing a strong post-COVID-19 turnaround at Disney Experience (and a long-term strategic plan to invest $60 billion in the business) while bringing the streaming business back to profitability. The consensus among Disney watchers is that Iger will leave the company gracefully while D’Amaro takes over as CEO.
Iger’s “legacy is kind of safe in terms of pivoting and stabilizing streaming,” Tayul said, predicting the deal with Fox would be seen as a good long-term bet. “I truly believe that Mr. D’Amaro is taking over the company in good shape. We are not in a crisis situation.”
Bob Iger and Willow Bay attend the 97th Oscar Awards Ceremony held at the Dolby Theater on March 2, 2025.
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What’s next for Iger after he leaves Mouse House leadership? He said he wants to devote more time to non-Disney businesses, including Angel City FC, the women’s professional soccer team that he and his wife Willow Bay, dean of the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, took control of two years ago. On Monday, Iger posted a congratulatory message on Instagram after his team defeated Chicago Stars FC 4-0.
Murphy predicts that Mr. Iger will not completely withdraw from the public eye. She said she doesn’t expect him to take another CEO job or run for president, for example, but “his choice will be” whether to join the boards of nearly any company or organization he’s interested in.
“I don’t think he’ll ever really retire,” she says. “A man like that never just sails off into the sunset.”
