An inflatable Disney+ logo stands at a press event ahead of launching a streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa, at Dubai Opera in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on June 7, 2022.YOUSEF SABA/Reuters
Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail.
As the Walt Disney Co. DIS-N embarks on its long-awaited high-profile search for a new CEO, it should have one overriding guiding principle: Don’t let recent history repeat itself.
That history, as Disney watchers know, is like a Wes Craven production of Fantasia: So gory it’s hard to forget. The ill-fated brief term of former CEO Bob Chapek was so damaging that his predecessor and mentor, Bob Iger, had to step back into the lead management role to steady the ship.
Finding the right person for the job will not be easy, even for a seasoned executive such as James Gorman, who was named Disney’s board chair this week. After his term begins in January, he will help direct the search committee’s work, with a deadline of naming a new CEO to replace Mr. Iger in early 2026.
Mr. Gorman has a stellar record at the highest levels of consulting and finance, including big jobs at three Big Ms – McKinsey, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
Despite those creds, Mr. Gorman and the committee cannot afford to forget what Mr. Chapek never understood: Disney’s core business is creating magic. Everything else – finance, technology, operations – exists to serve that end, not the other way around.
The fact that creating magic is not a strategic term found in any B-school text reflects the unique relationship Disney has with its customers across multiple assets – film and television, theme parks, cruises, merchandise and more.
Love it or despise it, Disney is a franchise like no other, with appeal across generations – from the first time a toddler hears the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song “Hot diggety dog!” to the gray-haired couples celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries at Disney World.
Mr. Chapek never figured that out. He put costs ahead of creativity and, like so many executives, fell in love with tech platforms, believing better delivery channels would win customers regardless of the quality of the content.
A banker by training, he surrounded himself with like-minded pencil-pushers who flipped the balance of power, marginalizing Disney’s creative core and putting finance and tech people in charge.
The result: The traditionally rich and innovative Disney content was weak and unmagical. In some cases, it strayed uncomfortably from the brand’s whimsical personality into socially conscious characters and storylines that, while fantastical, were not fantastic for audiences.
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Many of its high-profile productions, criticized for being activism-themed, bombed at the box-office, losing more than US$1-billion between them, including the big-screen flop, The Marvels, and the Disney+ disaster, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The company admitted to shareholders last year there was a misalignment of its content output with consumer tastes in entertainment.
The Disney faithful’s tepid response to the new content sent a strong message to the company that they did not want to be preached at. If they wanted an update on social issues, they had a wide spectrum of news channels that could provide whatever partisan fix they chose.
The tone-deaf, off-brand content hurt Disney’s streaming efforts, despite huge investments in the Disney+ platform. The failure was another sign that management’s priorities were upside down – creative content sells; the tech is simply a tool.
Pouring salt into the wound, Mr. Chapek insulted loyal Disney theme-park customers by suggesting they were costing the company money by using their privileges too often. Customers were outraged that the company’s loyalty programs, for which they paid a premium, were being used to criticize them.
The problems sank Disney’s market cap and dented its reputation. Mr. Chapek, who was rewarded handsomely by the board with juicy compensation increases during his tenure, eventually got the bum’s rush in 2022, taking a healthy exit package with him.
The search committee may find some solace knowing Disney is not alone when it comes to CEO flops. They need look no further than Boeing, where disgraced leader Dave Calhoun fell victim to the same shortcoming that sank Mr. Chapek: He didn’t understand the core business.
An investment banker by training, Mr. Calhoun had no experience in aircraft design or manufacturing. His focus after his appointment in 2020 was on cost, which led to widespread outsourcing of critical elements of the aircraft maker’s build process. That move has been linked to a number of quality issues with Boeing aircraft, including a high-profile incident in January when a fuselage door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines Max 9 jetliner in mid-air over Oregon.
But there are some positive role models for the committee, too. Take Brian Nicoll, for example. He turned around Taco Bell, went on to build Chipotle into one of the world’s most successful fast-food chains, and is now trying to revitalize the struggling Starbucks franchise as its new CEO.
Mr. Nicoll, who is not a banker, has succeeded because he knows his business – and that business starts with understanding what customers expect from the brands they choose and delivering on that promise consistently.
As the Disney search committee digs deep into its due diligence on potential CEO candidates, it needs to remember a simple truth about the company: There’s a reason they call it the Magic Kingdom. Disney’s ability to engage customers in a unique world of uncomplicated, non-political fantasy through creative magic at premium prices will be key to its survival.
Finding a CEO whose sense of whimsy is as strong as his or her financial and technological facility will be tough, but it will be essential to Disney’s future.
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