Bob Iger, American media executive
Robert A. Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who served as the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company between 2005 and 2020, as well as the chairman of the Board and executive chairman. He previously served as the president of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the president and chief operating officer of Capital Cities/ABC from 1995 until its acquisition by Disney in 1996. Iger was named president and COO of Disney in 2000 and succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005.
During his 15-year stewardship of the company, Iger broadened Disney's roster of intellectual properties, expanded its presence in international markets, and oversaw an increase of the company's market capitalization from $48 billion to $257 billion. He led the acquisitions of Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion, Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion, Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.06 billion, and the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox in 2019 for $71.3 billion. Iger also expanded the company's theme park resorts in East Asia, with the introduction of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort in 2005 and 2016, respectively. Additionally, he was also the driving force behind the reinvigoration of Walt Disney Animation Studios, the branded-release strategy of its film studio's output, and the company's increased investment on its direct-to-consumer businesses, including Disney+ and Hulu.On February 25, 2020, Bob Chapek was named his successor as Disney CEO. Iger continued to serve as executive and board chairman until he was replaced by Susan Arnold on December 31, 2021.