The internal fight of Disney may reach a conclusion as George Lucas backs Bob Iger as CEO of the company.
Disney’s internal fight edges in favor of the current CEO Bob Iger as George Lucas, the company’s largest individual investor, took his side. George Lucas is the world’s richest film director and producer with an estimated net worth of $5.5 billion.
“Creating magic is not for amateurs,” Lucas said. “When I sold Lucasfilm just over a decade ago, I was delighted to become a Disney shareholder because of my longtime admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger’s leadership.”
Lucasfilm was the production company of Star Wars, the most popular franchise in film history. In 2012, George Lucas sold the company to Disney for $4 billion and 37.5 million shares.
In his statement, Lucas referred to Iger’s longstanding time as Disney CEO. Iger initially became chief executive in 2005, saving the company from one of its worst financial crises in history. In 2019, Iger announced his intention to retire at the expiration of his natural term.
Bob Iger left Disney in 2020 and was replaced by Bob Chapek, whose previous experience was in the company’s parks division. Chapek’s inability to run a film business, especially at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, led Disney’s board to extend the mandate of Bob Iger. He was reinstated as CEO in 2022 with a mandate lasting until 2026.
Civil war
Iger came back to Disney during turbulent times across the entire entertainment industry. Streaming and the pandemic changed the way people interact with movies, disrupting a business model consolidated in over 100 years of history.
Disney+, the company’s flagship streaming service, is however still unprofitable and keeps losing subscribers every quarter. At his latest investors call, Iger said he expects Disney+ to start generating profits in 2025.
The theatrical line of Disney has also been unsuccessful, lagging behind box office hits like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Dune: Part Two.
This led Disney’s stock price to plummet, leading to different factions emerging for the future direction of the company. Trian Partners, a firm holding significant advisory shares in Disney, nominated its CEO Nelson Peltz as the new chief executive. Peltz has been trying to obtain Disney’s top position for several months.
The battle will reach its climax on April 3rd when the board will meet virtually to elect a new CEO. In recent weeks, increasingly more statements from Disney shareholders supported Bob Iger, including the latest from George Lucas.
With what seems like a victory in hand, Iger will likely be able to extend his vision for the company without internal divisions. Whether Disney’s crises will be solved or not, however, remains unclear.
