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- 1 Robert Allen “Bob” Iger is one of the most successful CEOs in the world.
- 2 Under his leadership, Disney hit some big milestones and emerged as a leader in the entertainment industry.
Disney or The Walt Disney Company needs no introduction. From animation to movies, amusement parks, and web series, one can relate the company with many things. One can only discuss successful conglomerates by naming the people behind them. Robert Allen Iger, popularly known as Bob Iger helms this massive entertainment company as its CEO.
Stellar Achievements
He succeeded Michael Eisner in 2005 and finished his term in 2020. After 2 years, he retook the mantle at the request of Disney’s board of directors. In his first tenure of 15 years, Bob focused on increasing the company’s intellectual properties. Under his stewardship, Disney’s market capitalization mushroomed from $48 Billion to $257 Billion.
He led significant acquisitions that brought the company among the major entertainment companies in the world. In 2006, Disney acquired Pixar for $7.4 Billion, it took over Marvel Entertainment for $4 Billion in 2009, and Lucasfilm for $4.06 Billion in 2012. The most recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox was done for $71.3 Billion in 2019.
Also, the company expanded its amusement park operations by opening various theme park resorts across the globe. On top of that, he pushed the revival of Walt Disney Animation Studios by tying it up directly with streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu. As one can expect, such a high-performing CEO gets rewarding pay too. Iger receives a whopping $27 Million as annual compensation.
Early Life and Education
Iger’s parents were Jewish and settled in New York. His father was a World War II veteran and his mother was a teacher at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside, New York. In 1969, he graduated from Oceanside High School and then pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Television and Radio from Ithaca College.
His media career began right on campus with the Ithaca College television show. Harboring the hopes of becoming a news anchor, Iger joined the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). However, he had to start by doing menial jobs on the sets for $150/week. His first breakthrough happened in 1988 when he worked at Calgary Winter Olympics as a senior program executive.
Rise to Fame and Success
Due to his excellent performance against various odds at that time, Iger rose to the position of president of the ABC network. After serving as executive vice president and senior vice president, he became the COO and president of ABC’s parent company, Capital Cities/ABC.
The Walt Disney Company acquired Capital Cities/ABC and rechristened it as ABC, Inc in 1995. On February 1999, Disney moved Iger from ABC to its own operations. He continued with his two designations, but this time, it was with Disney. In 2005, he finally obtained the numero uno position after some board members started a campaign against Eisner.
Quickly after holding the reigns, he made some changes in the operations too. Iger brought back Peter Murphy as the chief strategic officer and kicked off the acquisition marathon of Disney. Since then, Disney is on its success ride without any stops.
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