Former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger's parting advice to the company is not to become solely reliant on data when it comes to choosing creative projects.
As detailed in a lengthy piece published today by The Hollywood Reporter, Disney's board of directors and top management converged company's Aulani resort in Hawaii for their annual retreat this past July. With Iger nearing retirement and his successor, Bob Chapek, having taken over as CEO back in February 2020, this marked Iger's final official appearance at this sort of gathering.
Iger -- who has long been critical of overreliance on market research -- opened the meeting by offering his advice, pleading with Disney to prioritize creativity, instinct, taste and the value of talent over numbers and data when deciding the future of the company's theme parks, consumer products and film and television projects.
"In a world and business that is awash with data, it is tempting to use data to answer all of our questions, including creative questions. I urge all of you not to do that," Iger said. The former Disney CEO noted that if the company had been too reliant on data, it likely never would have made hit breakthrough movies like the animated Pixar feature Coco or Marvel Studios projects like Black Panther and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
While no non-Disney officials were attended the meeting, talk of Iger's speech began to circulate around Hollywood, with many interpreting it as a jab at Chapek. Known for his time overseeing Disney's parks and resorts, Chapek has garnered a reputation for cutting costs and raising prices, with many taking exception to his approach.
Supposedly, Chapek followed up Iger's comments at the meeting by declaring, in no uncertain terms, that Disney would be a data-driven company moving forward, much to the concern of those in Hollywood. According to THR, however, sources who were present at the meeting say that Chapek "did not make such a bald declaration." Rather, the new CEO was simply "being himself: a numbers-oriented, bottom-line-focused businessman lacking creative experience and without Iger's polish and flair."
Still, the narrative surrounding the meeting only served to perpetuate the notion that Iger had lost faith in Chapek as his successor, and that Iger's speech at the event was a "final warning." However, while Iger declined to comment on the meeting while talking with THR, he did say that, as far as he's concerned, the transition of power has gone as planned. Since stepping down as CEO, Iger has continued to oversee the creative side of Disney while Chapek gets acquainted with running the day-to-day.
"The whole thing was sort of my construct with ultimate buy-in and full support of the board,” Iger explained. "I would be around to mentor him for a year and a half while I was concentrating on the creative. He would get up to speed on all things Disney in that period of time. And then, by the time I gave in my Disney ID card, we'd have a transition about as smooth as it could be."
Chapek opted not to comment on the transition process. However, it should be noted that he did quickly move to take control following his promotion, even as Iger stuck around. THR reports that Chapek has taken a significant amount power away from Iger's devotees, with some opting to leave the company entirely. "Every creative person is leaving or losing power,” a former high-level Disney executive said.
At the end of the day, however, Chapek has to continue to build Disney's streaming presence without alienating creatives, which is already a rather intimidating task -- and one that just about every major entertainment leader is facing today. "Disney investors are pushing Chapek to lean harder into streaming even if it frustrates talent," says Lightshed Partners analyst Rich Greenfield. "He has to balance that with managing talent and relationships."
Disney's struggle to push its streaming service while also keeping its talent happy was famously dragged into the spotlight earlier this year when Scarlett Johansson sued the company after her Marvel film Black Widow received a day-and-date premiere on Disney+, as Johansson had previously been promised a theater-exclusive release. Johansson and Disney settled the lawsuit late last week.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter