For months if not years we’ve been obsessed with Elon Musk. Of all America’s corporate leaders, it’s this particular genius and narcissist on whom we fixate.
But, interestingly, ironically, the characters at Disney are far more compelling. There’s a gaggle of them. A gaggle of leaders as gladiators, each taking on the other in a years-long fight for supremacy at one of America’s most storied companies.
The Cast
- Bob Iger. By all accounts Iger is a genial man long known as one of America’s most respected and successful corporate executives. He was CEO of Disney from 2005 to 2020. But, instead of slipping quietly into permanent retirement, just a couple of years after he stepped down Iger was asked by the board to retake the reins. To which he immeidately if not eagerly replied yes. So, for now, Bob Iger is, again, chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company.
- Bob Chapek. During his long tenure, Iger did almost everything right. One thing he did not however do right, or smart, was to select a successor. After months of uncertainty Bob Chapek finally took over from Iger in February 2020. To say that Chapek’s time at the top of Disney was troubled is to understate it. Chapek was a failure at public relations; he became embroiled in political controversy; and he was less than stellar at running the business. After less than three years as Disney’s chief executive officer, late last year, Disney’s board gave Chapek the boot.
- Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is governor of Florida. Florida is the state in which Disney has one of its most iconic holdings, Walt Disney World Resort. DeSantis, a top Republican presidential contender, decided it was in his political interest to take on Disney, specifically Chapek, especially but not exclusively in the culture wars over race, gender identity, and abortion. Chapek did not, shall we say, handle it well, and when Iger returned tensions between the governor and the company diminished. But make no mistake: DeSantis enjoys toying with Disney.
- Abigail Disney. Walt Disney was Abigail’s great uncle, and she remains a Disney shareholder. Of itself this means little. But she has parlayed her last name and her strong political passions into the role of corporate gadfly. She rose to prominence in 2019 when she publicly took on CEO Bob Iger’s $66 million pay package. Since then, she has continued to play the self-appointed but nevertheless intermittently effective role of left-leaning activist, who says things like, “corporate boards are populated by people who are CEOs or would like someday to be CEOs and are loyal to the class they … identify with.” At Disney, Abigail Disney has no formal power or authority. But she does have influence, not a lot, but some.
- Nelson Peltz. Disney shares plummeted last year. Add to that the fiasco at the top – Chapek dumped, Iger reinstalled – and you have a company ripe for the picking. Enter Peltz, one of America’s best known and most aggressive corporate activists, who last week embarked on a very public proxy fight with Disney’s management. Quickly it got ugly. Peltz insisted that he be given a seat on Disney’s board; Disney responded that Peltz has “no track record” with large media companies and no way merits the seat he publicly covets. Peltz reminded everyone who was anyone that shareholder value at Disney had tanked. Disney defended its past acquisitions and touted its future cost-cutting and succession planning.
Think of it! Bob Iger humiliated Bob Chapek. Bob Chapek fought with Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis ripped into Walt Disney. Abigail Disney assailed the lot at the top. And now Nelson Peltz is dragging Mickey and Minnie through the mud. Not a pretty picture. But if you’re interested in corporate America, and gripped by leaders as gladiators, it’s compelling viewing.