What Chapek says happened
On Monday, Bob Chapek said he routinely alerted Disney's board about Bob Iger during his tenure as CEO, describing it as a weekly cadence. He recounted hearing that Iger was undermining him in private conversations. "When I started hearing about lunches that he had and dinners that he had where he was absolutely trashing me, and I'd hear it two, three times in the same week, the same bullet points, the same talking points, I was like, 'I've got a problem,'" Chapek told CNBC.
How the power struggle unfolded
Chapek, who previously led Disney's theme park and experiences unit, was appointed CEO just weeks before Covid closures hit theaters and parks worldwide in 2020. As he dealt with those shutdowns, Iger stayed on to steer Disney's content strategy, including Disney+. Chapek says Iger gradually took back influence, a tension outlined in a 2023 CNBC report.
He said that when he brought concerns about Iger to Disney's board, he was told, "'He'll be gone in two years. It's OK. That's Bob being Bob.'"
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The fallout and why it matters for your money
Chapek had kept largely quiet about his firing for almost four years, then laid out his account in his memoir and on Squawk Box. Not quite three years after his appointment as CEO, he was dismissed and Iger was brought back to lead, with Iger set to hold the post until March 2026. "It would have been great if, like other CEOs, he acted as a steward of my new role," Chapek said. "It would have been one thing if he was neutral, but to be actually working against me, actively, I thought was just unbelievable."
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