Former Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek has disclosed that he raised concerns with the company’s board of directors on a weekly basis during a power struggle with then-Executive Chairman Bob Iger. Speaking in a new interview, Chapek detailed the tensions that ultimately led to his removal from the top executive role in late 2022.
Chapek, who assumed the CEO position in early 2020 just before the global pandemic shuttered theme parks and movie theaters, said he reported hearing consistent negative remarks about himself that Iger was making to others. “When I started hearing about lunches that he had and dinners that he had where he was absolutely trashing me… I was like, ‘I’ve got a problem,'” Chapek told CNBC.
The former executive stated that when he brought these issues to the board, he was advised that Iger would eventually step down from his dual roles. “He’ll be gone in two years. It’s OK. That’s Bob being Bob,” Chapek recalled the board’s response. He expressed regret that the board did not enforce a neutral stewardship of his position, noting that active opposition from Iger was “unbelieable.”
Iger replaced Chapek as CEO in November 2022, less than three years after Chapek took the helm, and served in the role until March 2026. Chapek discussed these events during a book tour for his memoir, titled “Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth.” In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” he emphasized his motivation to publish the account, stating, “I had to get the truth out there.”
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