Veteran Disney chief Bob Iger stuns Hollywood by announcing return less than a year after retiring
Bob Iger has stunned Hollywood by returning as Disney chief executive – less than a year after he retired.
Shares in Disney rocketed nearly 7 per cent in early trading on hopes that Iger can steer the media giant through turbulent times.
It comes a couple of weeks after the company’s streaming service Disney+ posted a loss of £1.3billion in its most recent quarter.
Mickey take: Shares in Disney rocketed nearly 7% on news Bob Iger (pictured) is returning as Disney chief executive – less than a year after he retired
He replaces Bob Chapek, 62, who was handpicked by Iger to take over in February 2020, but the relationship between the two men quickly soured. Iger, 71, has agreed to serve another two years in the job.
In his previous tenure he oversaw a number of big takeovers, buying up animation studio Pixar, comic book company Marvel, 21st Century Fox and Lucasfilm, the home of Star Wars. He also launched Disney+.
‘I am thrilled to be asked by the board to return,’ Iger said. But in an interview he gave to the New York Times in January, he said it was ‘ridiculous’ to suggest he might come back. ‘You can’t go home again. I’m gone,’ he told the newspaper.