Bob Iger hasn’t even been back with The Walt Disney Company for 24 hours and is making some MAJOR changes. On November 20, Disney announced that CEO Bob Chapek was leaving Disney immediately and Bob Iger would once again be taking over as Disney’s Chief Executive Officer. The move was startling, but not altogether unexpected, and a lot of Disney fans were not that upset about it. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Now, it looks like Chapek’s right-hand man is also on the way out.
According to multiple reports, Kareem Daniel, the Chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution — which includes Disney+ –, and one of Chapek’s top lieutenants, was told that his time was up with the House of Mouse. Iger sent an email to Disney employees on Monday, November 21, letting them know about the change. Part of that email was shared with The Hollywood Reporter:
“I’ve asked Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, Jimmy Pitaro, and Christine McCarthy to work together on the design of a new structure that puts more decision-making back in the hands of our creative teams and rationalizes costs, and this will necessitate a reorganization of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. As a result, Kareem Daniel will be leaving the company, and I hope you will all join me in thanking him for his many years of service to Disney,” Iger wrote in a note to employees Monday.
Daniel had been with Disney for 14 years, and was a major part of the changes Chapek made to The Walt Disney Co. during his short time as CEO. Where Bob Iger focused on creative leadership, Chapek took a business-centered approach, appointing executives with no experience in the creative sector. Many were disappointed in that move, as Disney is one of the most creative companies in the world.
Daniel’s exit is most likely only the beginning of major exits and changes that will be happening at The Walt Disney Company in the upcoming weeks and months. Chapek made a lot of changes to Disney that were not seen as positive, and people’s view of Disney — as well as Disney’s stock — has dropped immensely in a short amount of time. It remains to be seen if Iger can dig Disney out of the hole it’s in before the two years he agreed to are up.
