Is the Future of Hollywood in Peril?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Many Hollywood studios are currently searching for their next CEO, a decision that could drastically alter their success in the future.
No company knows the importance of choosing a good CEO more than Disney. After serving as CEO for 15 years, Bob Iger stepped down from the position in 2020, handing the reigns over to Bob Chapek. Two years later, Iger was back after Chapek failed to offer sufficient leadership. Though Iger was only meant to serve as an interim leader, his stay has been extended for the foreseeable future.
Iger’s ability to depart the role was stunted when longtime CFO Christine McCarthy announced in June of 2023 that she was leaving the company. A year later, there is still little evidence that Disney has a strong contender to fill the position.
“Disney is probably the succession race that Hollywood is following most closely, given Bob Iger’s stature and what happened when he ceded the CEO seat to Bob Chapek,” explained The Hollywood Reporter media and business writer, Alex Weprin. “Iger has even said that he is “obsessed” with finding the right successor now, and that he has been “conducting my own post-mortem” about what happened last time.
Other companies that are currently facing messy situations with succession include Paramount and Fox.
Paramount is currently under the leadership of three co-CEOs who took over after Bob Bakish resigned earlier this year. Though David Ellison is set to singlehandedly head the Paramount once its merger with Skydance Media goes through, however, it could be well into 2025 before the two companies are under one roof.
Fox, meanwhile, is in a messy state as Rupert Murdoch looks to secure the future of his empire which is currently in jeopardy due to an irrevocable trust that could lead to the breakup of Fox after his death. Murdoch is attempting to secure his son Lachlan’s leadership but if he is unable to change the terms of the trust, ownership will fall equally among his four children, likely causing his empire to fracture.
While the success of these long-lasting companies may seem guaranteed given their position in the industry, now, more than ever, strong leadership is essential for longevity as major changes in entertainment require savvy leaders to navigate.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Disney’s current CFO, Christine McCarthy, signaled she would be leaving the company, triggering speculation that Bob Iger will remain CEO of the company beyond 2024.
When Iger returned to Disney in 2022, he signed a two-year contract as CEO. Given that he was ousted from the position only two years earlier, many have reasoned that Iger was essentially an interim while the company looked for a suitable long-term replacement. However, McCarthy’s departure has likely extended Iger’s stay at Disney.
In recent decades, the CFO position at Disney has often been seen as a stepping stone to CEO. Given the company’s involvement in a variety of sectors – entertainment, theme parks, consumer goods — the CFO needs to do more than just work a spreadsheet. Iger uses Disney’s quarterly earnings calls to explain the state of the business and leans on the CFO to help explain the state of the company.
Furthermore, Disney’s CFO has “a responsibility to the board and our shareholders, which meant not always going along with whatever the CEO [has] in mind,” Iger wrote in his 2019 memoir.
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