The soon-to-depart Bob Iger avoided getting too “nostalgic” during today’s Disney Q1 results call but he did have some words of wisdom for his probable successor, who Bloomberg reported overnight is likely to be Parks boss Josh D’Amaro.
“Preserving the status quo” would be a “mistake,” Iger said, as he prepares to step down after nearly 20 years cumulatively leading the Mouse House during two stints.
“The good news is that the company is in much better shape today than it was three years ago,” he said of the situation when he re-took over the business from Bob Chapek. “We have done a lot of fixing but also put in place a number of opportunities. In a world that changes as much as it does, in some form or another trying to preserve the status quo is a mistake and I’m certain my successor will not do that.”
Later in the call, Iger set out the example of creating a new entertainment unit under Dana Walden and Alan Bergman three years ago.
“The studio and TV organizations spent the most money generating content for streaming and I felt strongly that those people investing the most needed to have much more skin in the game in terms of the impact of their spending on the bottom line,” he added. “Three years ago that [streaming] business lost about $1.5 billion in the last quarter before I came back and you see the results this quarter and what we have managed in the last year where it’s making more than $1 billion. We are on a path to turning into a far better business. That reorganization worked.”
Iger said his team more broadly has done a “tremendous amount that needed fixing” over the past three years.
He said he wanted to avoid being too “nostalgic” or spending “too much time on possible transition or probable transition.”
D’Amaro, chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, is reported this morning to be in the front seat to replace Iger. Walden, co-chairman of entertainment, has also been considered a leading internal candidate for the role. The board will meet to discuss later this week.
Disney reported solid results for its fiscal first quarter but also disclosed a $110 million hit from its high-profile autumn carriage fight with YouTube TV.
