Disney elects Susan Arnold as board chairman, replacing Robert Iger
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2 min read . Updated: 02 Dec 2021, 08:02 PM IST - Iger’s reign at the helm of Disney’s board comes with his departure at the end of the year
Walt Disney Co.’s board of directors has elected Susan Arnold its new chairman, replacing Robert Iger, the longtime chief executive who is set to depart from the company later this month.
Ms. Arnold, whose career in business has included positions at the Carlyle Group Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co., has been a Disney board member since 2007 and is to become chairman on Dec. 31. She most recently served as its lead independent director.
Her appointment is another indication of the changing of the guard happening at Disney when Mr. Iger leaves at the end of the year. As Disney’s CEO from 2005 to 2020, Mr. Iger enjoyed board support as he oversaw a transformation of the world’s largest entertainment company, mostly through a series of acquisitions that put brands like Pixar Animation, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm Ltd. under one roof. His departure closes a chapter for Disney as several other high-ranking lieutenants are following him out the door, an exodus that will cement Mr. Iger’s successor, Bob Chapek, as the executive in charge.
Mr. Iger was named chairman of the board in 2012 and has served as the company’s executive chairman since ceding the CEO role in 2020. Mr. Chapek joined the board in April 2020 shortly after he was named CEO.
Under Mr. Iger’s tenure, he had particular support from the board when it came to sticking around as CEO. The board approved a postponement to his planned retirement several times before he announced last year he was stepping down for good.
In naming Ms. Arnold as its chairman, Disney’s board is turning to an executive with extensive experience on boards and with consumer goods. Before joining Carlyle, Ms. Arnold was president of global business units at Procter & Gamble, a role she was promoted to after working in the company’s beauty and health division. She served as a director for McDonald’s Corp. for eight years, leaving in 2016.
She will lead a board that has had to weather an unprecedented period of turmoil in recent years. Shortly after Mr. Chapek was named CEO, Covid-19 shut down Disney parks world-wide and closed movie theaters. Theme parks and theaters have since largely reopened with some restrictions.
The company since then has accelerated its plans to focus on direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Disney+, which saw fast growth soon after launching and kept company shares afloat during the pandemic. However, Disney reported last month that subscriber growth had slowed significantly in the most recent financial quarter, sending shares tumbling.
That news—along with reports of a new Covid-19 variant spreading around the world—have sent Disney shares to their lowest point this year. Disney stock closed Wednesday at $142.15 a share, down 20% for the year.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
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