Former Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Officer, Bob Iger, recently said goodbye to his long-time run with the company at the end of 2021. Rumors among the Disney fandom have hoped for Iger’s return but these are now squashed with a recent interview where Iger confirmed the rumors were “ridiculous.”
Iger passed on the Chief Executive Officer reins to Bob Chapek in February 2020 but made his official exit from the company on December 31, 2021. The current CEO, Bob Chapek, hasn’t had the greatest of reputations as Iger left big shoes to fill.
While Chapek has had to endure the uphill battle the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the company, he has turned some Disney fans’ favorites into negatives such as the complimentary FastPass service into the money-making Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane service. He has also taken away small, but important Disney Resort Guest experiences, such as Disney’s Magical Express and complimentary MagicBands.
But, no two CEOs are the same. And while Disney fans petitioned to fire Bob Chapek, their hopes were that Bob Iger would stay on to continue his positive work with Disney. Well, Iger sat down with New York Times for an interview, squashing any hope of that dream becoming a reality.
Bob Iger’s recent retirement from Disney was discussed among many other things with New York Times interviewer, Kara Swisher, just three weeks into his retirement. A full podcast and transcript are available via NY Times with the comments about return as Disney’s CEO below.
The NY Times interviewer, Kara Swisher mentions to Bob Iger, “There are rumors that you could become Disney’s C.E.O. again.” Iger’s response is, “Well, that’s ridiculous.” With that Swisher says, “Ridiculous.” Iger adds, “I was C.E.O. for a long time. You can’t go home again. I’m gone.” Swisher replies, “Really? It’s happened before. Starbucks?” Iger continues with, “I gave my I.D. up, my name tag up”… “My office, my email address— it’s all gone.” Swisher adds, “Right, and all the headaches that come with it. Would you want to be C.E.O. of any other company? Would you think about doing that?” Iger solidifies his lack of interest in running a company with, “No. I think if I wanted to run a company, I’d still be running Disney. No. No, I did that.”
Well, there you have it Disney fans. Confirmation that any rumors of Bob Iger’s return are completely off the table. Iger has noted in previous interviews that he is “excited about life after Disney“, and honestly we can’t blame him and thank him for all he did for the company during his tenure!
