Bob Chapek is about to tell his side of one of the messiest leadership changes in Disney history.
His new memoir, Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth, comes out September 29. According to the publisher, Chapek looks back at his decades with Disney, his brief run as CEO and the fallout that ended with Bob Iger returning to the job. www.simonandschuster.com
How did the two Bobs get here?
Iger stepped down as CEO in February 2020, handing the job to Chapek. A few weeks later, the pandemic brought Disney’s parks, cruise ships and theatrical business to a halt. It was a brutal start to any CEO’s tenure, let alone one following a leader as closely associated with Disney as Iger. www.simonandschuster.com
In November 2022, Disney made the stunning announcement that Chapek was leaving and Iger was coming back, effective immediately. The board thanked Chapek for steering Disney through the pandemic and said Iger was the person to lead the company through its next stretch. investors.thewaltdisneycompany.com
That much is clear. What happened behind the scenes is where the story gets complicated.
The description of Chapek’s book asks whether he was given a fair shot and whether he became a scapegoat. Those are questions from Chapek’s perspective, and the memoir will give him a chance to explain why he sees it that way. They don’t, on their own, settle what Iger or Disney’s board thought at the time. www.simonandschuster.com
You don’t have to pick a side to see why people are interested. Iger chose Chapek as his successor. Chapek walked into a crisis almost immediately. Then, less than three years later, Disney brought Iger back. Each of those facts is remarkable on its own. Put them together, and you have a story fans are still talking about nearly four years later.
Disney has a new CEO now, Josh D’Amaro, but Chapek’s book is about to put that earlier handoff back in the spotlight. We’ll hear his account on September 29. The interesting part will be what it adds to the story we already know and what questions it leaves open. www.reuters.com
Sources: Simon & Schuster · The Walt Disney Company
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