Bob Iger Admits to Being “Dismissive”, Early Sign That It Was Time to Step Down

Back in 2019, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger announced that he would be stepping down from his role as CEO in 2020 and would take the role of Executive Chairman. He also announced that he would remain Chairman of the Board until fully retiring in 2021. Well, just a few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world, and Iger, while not fully CEO, remained much more involved in a leadership position than he was intending.

Credit: Disney

It is now almost 2022, and Iger has confirmed that the new year will see him retired and no longer a part of Disney. The news comes with a lot of disappointment for Disney fans, who are struggling to get behind the new CEO, Bob Chapek. Chapek has had an incredibly tough time since taking over the company, but Iger hopes that the tides will turn once Chapek has full control without him being there.

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Bob Iger recently sat down for an interview with CNBC and spoke about his time at the company and what his plans are for when he is retired. He also spoke about when he knew that it was time to step down, which came with an admission that he wasn’t the best listener.

Iger told CNBC:

“I will say that over time, I think I started listening less than maybe with a little less tolerance of other people’s opinions maybe because of getting a little bit more overconfident in my own, which is sometimes what happens when you get built up, you know, in some form or another, as you know, something special or great or whatever. I was mindful of that.

I think I wrote about that too. I was I became a little bit more dismissive of dissent and other people’s opinions than I should have been. And that was that that was an early sign that it was time. It wasn’t the reason I left but it was a contributing factor.”

Credit: Disney

During his time as Disney CEO, Iger was responsible for a number of major achievements for the House of Mouse — including the acquisitions of Pixar, LucasFilm, Marvel, and 20th Century Fox. Iger was also responsible for the Shanghai Disney Resort, as well as the creation of Cars Land and Disneyland Resort and Pandora: The World of Avatar in Animal Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World.

Iger’s official last day at The Walt Disney Company will be December 31, 2021.