Disney CEO Bob Iger, who has returned from retirement, will be given more time to get the entertainment giant back on track. The 72-year-old’s contract was extended by two more years until the end of 2026. At the same time, the search for a successor continues to be a priority, Disney announced on Thursday night.
The US group and Iger have to take care of several construction sites. With high production costs, video streaming is a loss-making business, the US television market is shrinking, and Disney’s theme parks seem to be attracting less interest. Among other things, Iger wants to take countermeasures with savings of 5.5 billion dollars and the reduction of 7,000 jobs.
In many ways, Iger is the architect of today’s Disney Group. In his 15-year first tenure, he brought the Marvel superheroes, the “Star Wars” universe and the animation studio Pixar under the Disney umbrella.
In 2020, he handed over the top job to longtime theme park boss Bob Chapek. But by November 2022, Iger was back as Disney boss after the company’s board of directors lost faith in his successor. Iger was initially given a two-year contract and, among other things, the task of arranging the successor.