Kevin Mayer & Tom Staggs Rumored to Return to Disney as Advisors to Bob Iger
It’s been a rough summer for Disney CEO Bob Iger. Haunted Mansion just became the latest in a string of box office flops. Iger has been vocally criticized by Hollywood A-listers for his tone-deaf words about the actors’ and writers’ strikes. The stock has been languishing near 52-week lows even as the broader market has bounced back. There are “rumors” swirling that Iger plans to sell Disney outright to Apple (biggest air quotes possible around rumor).
Nothing suggests the Walt Disney Company is on the precipice of a big turnaround under Iger, who was brought back to right the ship. He has already found that Cleaning Up Chapek’s Costly Catastrophes is proving more difficult than first thought. During a recent wide-ranging CNBC interview, Iger conceded as much, admitting that the challenges facing Disney are greater than he had anticipated.
Although Iger has claimed that he is “quite pleased” how much Disney has accomplished in a short period of time, he also noted that there are a lot of challenges; the market has to cooperate and post-COVID recovery remains ongoing. He went on to say that he’s “extremely optimistic” about the company, and more or less laid out a road map for Disney’s future that includes selling linear TV networks, finding a strategic partner for ESPN, acquiring a full stake in Hulu, and expanding the theme parks.
Some good news on those fronts as industry insider Matthew Belloni is reporting in Puck News that former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs have both been engaged by Disney to consult with Iger, ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro, and others on the future of the Disney’s linear properties and how they intersect with Disney’s streaming strategy. For those unfamiliar with the names, both Mayer and Staggs were previously heirs apparent to the Disney throne, and likely CEO-successors at different points in past Iger retirement timelines.
Most recently, Disney passed over Kevin Mayer for the CEO role when Iger left abruptly in early 2020, prompting Mayer to depart Disney and take a short-lived CEO role with TikTok. Mayer got dealt a bad hand in both situations–it was truly a matter of poor timing and bad luck that he bounced out of both companies when and in the way he did.
Disney’s decision was confounding given Mayer’s success in launching Disney+ and the company’s future in streaming media, but Iger’s resignation was so sudden that Chapek was arguably better prepared and suited for the CEO position. At least, that was the thinking at the time. History now suggests otherwise.
Prior to that, Tom Staggs left Disney when it became clear he wasn’t going to be CEO. The best contemporaneous account of Staggs’ departure is documented in Behind the Scenes at Disney as It Purged a Favorite Son in the New York Times by James Stewart, author of Disney War.
I’ve re-read that at least a half-dozen times in the last year, each time there are fresh rumors or news about Iger or Staggs. To this day, it’s still unclear whether it was just Disney’s Board of Directors, or the them and Iger who previously lost faith in Staggs. There are little kernels in there that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, can take on different meaning.
At the time that was written, it seemed fairly obvious that Iger had been a champion of Staggs and lobbied for him despite the board’s misgivings. Subsequent events, including Iger’s many succession-planning failures and extensions, as well as the board reportedly wanting Staggs back, suggested that maybe Iger had been able to ‘massage’ the message of the article into one that was subtle more “pro-Iger.” (It wouldn’t be the first or last time.)
Fast-forward to today, and Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs are now running the Candle Media startup together. That is, as the name suggests, a media company. Candle Media is a next-generation content company with a portfolio (thanks to its own aggressive acquisitions) of independent studios and creator-driven brands. The output ends up all over the place, everywhere from more “traditional” locations like Netflix to more “emerging” ones like TikTok.
In 5 Businesses Disney Should Buy or Sell written in the days following Iger’s return last year, I suggested that Disney should acquire Candle Media. It’s possible that their startup itself has value for family-friendly content and a pipeline into emerging media, but I cannot speak to that. From my perspective, it was/is all about the talent acquisition of Mayer and Staggs.
TheWrap has further corroborated the reports that Mayer and Staggs are advising Iger on linear divestiture and streaming strategies, while also stating that Candle Media is expected to be sold within the next few years. Unsurprisingly, Disney is the single most likely purchaser for the startup.
For me, the Staggs-Mayer duo serving as co-heads of Disney is a dreamlike scenario, and one that could have an Eisner-Wells dynamic. I first wrote about this even before Iger returned, but recognized it was likely “bad fanfic” given the circumstances. Chapek’s contract had just been extended and there was no reason to believe he was going to be replaced, despite doing an objectively awful job.
Or it seemed like bad fanfic…until Chapek was fired and subsequent revelations came to light that Disney’s board actually approached Staggs and Mayer to return to Disney to be co-CEOs. At that point, the return of Mayer and Staggs moved from “bad fanfic” to “implausible wishful thinking.”
Even though the board had approached them, it wasn’t clear whether they’d even want to return to Disney after their ousters or whether Bob Iger would be willing to work with them. As mentioned above, it’s unclear on what terms Iger, Staggs, and Mayer parted ways, and whether any bad blood existed among the men.
If Puck’s reporting is accurate, it would seem to confirm Stewart’s original reporting from back in 2016 about Staggs’ departure being driven by the board; that he really was the chosen successor of Iger. It would also suggest that Mayer was simply a victim of poor timing. Or that, at the very least, that time heals all wounds and the relationship has been repaired.
It’s tough to assess from the outside looking in, but I’m now inclined to believe the former. If Iger didn’t like Mayer or Staggs, he wouldn’t be working with them. If they felt betrayed by Iger, they’d have no incentive to help on a dead-end consulting gig.
The “time heals all wounds” explanation would work for Mayer and Staggs being cordial with Iger at a Brentwood cocktail party. That’s not a plausible explanation for them helping the CEO sell-off underperforming media assets to help cement his own legacy. There’s gotta be more to this.
It’s probably already obvious where we’re going with this, but in case not, this rumor is far less significant in and of itself than for its bigger picture implications. At this point, it’s a foregone conclusion that Disney is going to divest itself linear television networks. It’s just a question of which ones, to whom, and for how much.
As Disney Parks fans first and foremost, the inevitable answers to all of those questions are immaterial to us. I suppose I want more linear properties to be sold and for the highest possible amounts, if only because that means reducing Disney’s debt load faster and, at least in theory, pivoting to the promised blockbuster theme park projects faster.
After all, there are plans for $17 billion investment at Walt Disney World and expansion as part of DisneylandForward in California. We’re standing on the precipice of another “Disney Decade” for the theme parks…as soon as the company is in a position to devote the CapEx necessary to it. But otherwise, I couldn’t care less what happens with ABC, Freeform, FX, NatGeo, etc.
From our perspective, the more significant implications concern succession planning. Earlier this year, Disney made former Nike CEO Mark Parker the new Chairman of the Board and, perhaps more importantly, the head the newly created Succession Planning Committee of the Board. This will advise the Board of Directors on CEO succession planning, including review of internal and external candidates.
More recently, the board extended Bob Iger’s contract by two years, and he will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer through December 31, 2026. As we pointed out in our extensive commentary to that decision, this was an inevitability to anyone who was paying attention, both because of the tremendous turmoil in the legacy media space and the practical reality that there are no suitable successor CEO candidates who been properly prepped to take the helm by the end of next year.
Previously, CFO Christine McCarthy’s name appeared atop the list of five talked-about candidates for the future CEO job. She’s now gone. That list also is/was rumored to have included Dana Walden, Disney’s television chief, and Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park chairman. Previous reporting suggests that the board doesn’t view either candidate as “quite ready” for the role.
In prior posts, this blog has been unabashedly favorable towards Josh D’Amaro. We’ve defended his recent inaction on the basis of his hands being tied and budgets being limited; we’ve heard from plenty of past colleagues who say he’s the real deal and truly “gets” Disney. That remains our perspective, but with each passing month that D’Amaro fails to do anything of substance to impress, our position admittedly becomes less tenable.
We’d still love to be vindicated on our defense of D’Amaro, but can also accept being wrong and backing the wrong horse. There’s also the practical reality that D’Amaro doesn’t have experience on the media side of the business. Even if he ends up becoming a great Parks Chairman, he may not be cut out to be Disney CEO.
The good news is that, as much as we’ve championed D’Amaro, we’d be even happier with Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer as the future heads of Disney. As mentioned above, this would be a potential Wells-Eisner scenario. The two are collectively very well-rounded, with Staggs having a tremendous amount of Parks & Resorts experience. Much of the last decade-plus of successful projects at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and in the international parks were set into motion under Staggs’ leadership.
The Walt Disney Company’s Board of Directors also believes that Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer are ready for the role(s). That much is obvious given that the board attempted to bring Staggs and Mayer back last year. That plan was rumored to have been abandoned because it would’ve required acquiring Candle Media, and there was no way to accomplish that with Chapek as CEO.
Obviously, the circumstances are now different. Iger knows that the clock is ticking and is actively looking for his replacement(s). He also knows that his legacy will be defined in large part based on succession-planning, and legacy is of the utmost importance to him. Iger has every incentive to set his successor(s) up for success this time, cleaning up past mistakes and well-positioning the next leader(s) of Disney. Basically, their success is his success; their failures are his failures. Iger knows that this time.
If this rumor is true, it would seem that the stars have aligned for a return of Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. They are obviously on board. Iger is on board. Even the board is on board. Even if it’s “only” advising at this point, that doesn’t happen if the logical and anticipated end point isn’t something more.
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OUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about Disney bringing back Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer to consult on the company divesting itself of linear TV networks and streaming strategy? Who do you think will be CEO of the Walt Disney Company on January 1, 2027? Will it be Bob Iger (still), Christine McCarthy (somehow), Tom Staggs, Kevin Mayer, Josh D’Amaro, or none of the above? Who should it be? Thoughts on anything else discussed here? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the Walt Disney Company’s future? Think things will get better in 2024-2025? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Staggs alone gives off Walt & Roy vibes, with a lot of experience with Parks & Resorts and Disney planning/finance, including as CFO; I was happy when he was Iger’s #2 the first time around and am rooting for him to get the position he was denied when Iger didn’t retire.
Mayer’s Disney experience with film/video/streaming production and distribution seems equally balanced, if indeed at a lower level within the Disney corporate structure. (If nothing else, he can get the non-CEO titles.)
If I were D’Amaro, I’d be doing everything I can to make the case to be CFO. He probably has enough experience to say that he knows Parks Resorts Experiences Products Etc, but he needs some broadening of his portfolio/resume before he gets to be a better candidate. While going to film/video/streaming would increase his experience, not turning the division could hurt his career. (For instance, I don’t think you can “fix” Hulu short of forcing equal shares on Universal, Fox, Paramount and/or Warner and reverting back to its “every current network show” paradigm.) On the other hand, I expect Iger to be paying down debt enough that whoever gets named CEO is going to look amazing. That’s my take, anyway.
Love your business articles. Please write more!
Once undesirable assets are sold off Disney will need a poison pill to ward off the whole entity being taken private.
The fans may not like their parks being owned and effectively influenced by foreign interests. The shareholders might like the buy-out price enough to make it happen.
Too much longer of this Iger, Iger quitting for his own interests, let’s dump this on Chapek, Iger back , let’s bring in some familiar names to keep people interested,dump the CFO, chat about park prices too high, chat about streamlining, what assets where, and yada, yada ,yada will just wear out shareholders and park fans and media fans.
I just hope Lucas and Cameron have protection from a complete takeover of their assets.
The current arrangement is not going to end up in a smooth manner. Everyman/woman for themselves, including us fans.
Staggs should still be the heir-apparent.
There is definitely a logical extrapolation here that could turn ‘bad (but actually really good) fanfic’ into reality. Where above ‘implausible wishful thinking’ do you think the odds now lie?
I truly have no clue. I don’t think what has happened thus far occurs without the end-game (on both sides) being to bring them back in the fold at Disney. What that means and how that’s accomplished are anyone’s guess.
A zillion years ago I read Storming the Magic Kingdom on a whim. I feared it would be a dry boring read and dull because it was by a financial writer. I couldn’t put it down. When it ended I wanted more. Today it’s still one of my favorite Disney books. Years later, Disney Wars, with high praise from Tom, had me excited to pick up round two. I had to really push myself to read halfway through the book. I will probably finish it some day, but I will have to live longer than I expect to, to get that done. So I wondered what was the difference? In Storming, I cared about the good guys who wanted to save Disney. I learned I liked Roy, son of Roy, much more than I did before I picked up the book. Roy the younger, was a man with little creative talent compared to his Uncle and little of his father’s head for business. He was that lucky swimmer in his group born into a famous family. What he did have, in huge amounts, was a love for his father, his Uncle and all they created. He was the quintessential Disney fan. He loved Disney and got it. It was literally in his blood. In Disney Wars the main characters are all selfish egotistical Disney wannabes. Eisner did have some talent and loved the Disney brand. He even tried to be Walt, hosting a Disney tv show. He was terrible. He wan’t real. It showed. He also was an increasingly awful human being as his reign at Disney went on. But he was not alone in that. Pretty much all the other main players were dreadful, selfish, self-important people. The third book in this trilogy, yet to be written, is abut Iger/Chapek/Iger. Unless Tom writes it I will not even pick it up. I have come to the conclusion, after a good deal of reading, that Iger is all about Iger. He is slick so you feel comfortable with him and walk away with the impression he cares but really he’s all about himself. Not Disney. He no more gets it than Chapek but he can convince you that he does. Chapek had none of that Iger smoothness or ability to win you over. I know nothing about these new guys that Tom is so high on. They sound good. Maybe they will be successful in the tradition that Welles/Eisner were. But there will never be another Disney/Disney who loved the company which bore their name. Unlike when Kings and Queens pass away and the cry goes out “the King is dead, long live the King” all we can say is, “Walt is dead.” and that’s where it ends.
The appeal of Disney War, at least for me, is that it’s essentially a Shakespearean tragedy.
Michael Eisner gave the author (Stewart) unprecedented access to create (essentially) a sequel to Work in Progress. Instead, Disney War was the outcome. It’s not for everyone, but I love this type of book–it’s a realistic and nuanced portrayal of flawed humans, warts and all.
There is no good guys vs. bad guys in this stuff. It’s all shades of grey. In this era, I don’t think anyone who is capable of climbing the corporate ladder to attain the CEO position doesn’t do so without stepping on some people or compromising their principles. They’re not all good, but they’re also not all bad. That includes Iger, and even Chapek. Personally, I think the good vs. bad “ratio” is far better with Iger than Chapek, but to each their own.
I’m very interested to see what happens with D’Amaro over the next couple of years, How badly does he want the CEO role, and what happens when (as this news indicates may already have occurred) he sees the writing on the wall that he’s not going to be part of the succession plan? As a loyal Disney “lifer” with only 3 years heading Parks and Resorts, does he stay in that role and go along for an exciting, high-profile ride leading the division that’s been recognized as the company’s crown jewel by Wall Street and the board (and targeted for major new projects via massive CapEx investments)? Or does he jump ship to find a role where he can lead (or co-lead) another company (albeit a smaller one than Disney).
I’m not sure what makes Josh tick but if he’s looking for credit, recognition, or publicly having Co-CEOs will suck all that air out of the room.
My hope would be that this lights a fire under him to actually be decisive and do something to make an impression.
Obviously, D’Amaro does not control the purse strings and initiate major expansion without board approval…which he probably isn’t getting right now. But there are plenty of smaller-scale moves he could make that don’t require being greenlit from above. It’s within his power to make changes that reverse decreased guest satisfaction and draw back fans. It’ll be interesting to see what he does (or doesn’t) do in the next 12 months.
There were rumors that Ike Perlmutter at Marvel was the one who started lobbying the board to toss Staggs. Perlmutter out with the trimming of the employee ranks so that may have opened the door to this return.
Great perspective! I appreciate your reporting!
First thoughts would indicate Disneys’ board to needs to be reevaluated as appearances suggest they don’t know who they want are in what direction. Second, past CEOs that have come back haven’t tended to show as much success as the previous tenure. Wasn’t it Iger that said ” Prices rose too much and too quickly ” under the other Bob. Most things have continued to go up since Iger returned. I’m of the opinion that in recent years Chapek probably gets to much blame and Iger to much credit. That opinion is worth exactly worth $0.00. I would like Disney refocus on what made it successful, divest partially or totally of the linear media. Get back to great imagineering in parks and resorts. I realize it is a giant business but they may be the problem. As a DVC member, AP holder, and share holder I’m not happy with current situation.
Yin & Yang.
Walt & Roy.
Eisner & Wells.
Iger & ???……
Disney does its best when it has a business-minded exec + a creative-minded exec partnering together.
Choosing a CEO for a unique company like Disney is a challenge. Walt Disney possessed a very unique creative genius, combined with a very strong business sense of what his target audience wanted. Roy handled the operation and growth of the business side necessary to execute Walt’s plans.
Disney found another team that provide tremendous growth while maintaining the Disney brand with Eisner and Wells.
Hopefully the Disney Board has learned that the successors to Iger must be faithful to the Disney brand while finding new avenues of growth within the brand. And hopefully the days of achieving false “ growth “ by spending tens of billions of dollars on acquisitions or projects with no synergy with the Disney brand are over. Staggs and Mayer may be the ones who can revive Disney and bring about new glory days for Disney customers, stockholders, and cast members. I hope so.
I wouldn’t wish the job on anyone; I fear it’s going to be a darned if you do darned if you don’t kind of job. That being said, whoever gets it will need to truly know Disney, inside out, warts and all. They also have to truly embody Disney. Having two at the helm sounds like a great idea and Staggs and Mayer have already shown they can work together well and seem to have had a passion for it before. It gives me hope.
RE Disney+ complaints, it was Chapek’s to ruin and he did; I do hope it can be saved financially tho because it is hands down better than other streaming services.
Obviously, this blog is no fan of Chapek.
With that said, I’m willing to give him a tepid defense on Disney+. At the time when Chapek massively increased spending, it was the middle of the pandemic, that was the only area of growth, and it’s what Wall Street wanted. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to say he overspent, did X or Y wrong, etc. But at that time, it was the right approach and the one any CEO would’ve taken. Disney+ will be fine in the long-run, it losing money in the first several years was always the plan.
As far as Disney’s debt goes, streaming isn’t the real (or main) issue. That would be the 20th Century Fox acquisition and its bloated price tag–and that was all Iger.
I’ve got to be honest – the thought of Tom Staggs as an Iger replacement makes me tentatively optimistic about what it could mean for the parks. I still remember the NYT(?) article about the development of MyMagic+, in which Staggs referenced the fact that he was his family’s “FastPass runner.” I feel like he understands the parks from a fan’s perspective (or, at least, he did at some point). If nothing else, at least he has a history of visiting the parks for “real” visits with his family, not just as part of the job.
I’m not as familiar with Mayer, but if we could get a duo like Eisner/Wells that would work off each other’s strengths, that could be a very good thing for the fans (for once)!
There were plenty of interviews with Staggs over the years that included little details suggesting he “got” Disney and the parks in particular. Sort of like Eisner, but without the charisma and charm.
It seems like the lack of ‘presence’ is a big part of what led to the board not having confidence in Staggs in the first place. I do think that’s important for the face of Disney, but perhaps that can come from Mayer. Or maybe Staggs will grow into it. Iger wasn’t nearly as polished when he started as he is now.
Eisner/Wells had the dual benefit of parks assets that were completely undervalued and untapped, plus a fledgling Animation department that didn’t develop new stories for decades. Not to discredit their successes, but to highlight that Disney had two cash cows just sitting there but is now in a much different position. Today’s Disney needs to shed bloated assets without going so lean they run the risk of another hostile takeover attempt. At the same time, nobody’s going to do Disney any favors with the asking price because they all know Disney’s need to sell off deadwood. All the while, parks will continue to keep everything afloat and those lofty margins (and prices) we are experiencing can’t really go away as long as other areas of the company continue to bleed money.
In other words, it’s a long, tough road ahead for the next CEO/CFO and we may not be happy if/when they have to make some difficult financial decisions. Ideally they can start the sell-off sooner rather than later, enough to then launch the parks investments and show that they are still the dynamic, creative company we’ve grown to love. Build some goodwill.
As for streaming and distribution, who knows? The financial model there is beyond me. Disney had it right to acquire properties like Pixar and Marvel and Muppets so they could leverage those characters for future stories and future revenue, but I don’t understand why they wouldn’t just distribute their content to the highest bidder and let Netflix/Hulu/Google/Apple/etc. deal with the unstable/rising production budgets and volume-dependent demand. Subscribers alone aren’t going to save any of these streaming services. Imagine Netflix paying Disney a boatload to feed their demand, allowing Disney to avoid all the crazy technology and production costs.
Anyway…a lot to do. Hopefully Disney at minimum stops pouring money down the drain with some of the side businesses, consolidates all their properties onto one platform, and goes lean. I fear that any investment in film and parks (you know, the creative stuff) will be compromised until they have that under control.
“Ideally they can start the sell-off sooner rather than later, enough to then launch the parks investments and show that they are still the dynamic, creative company we’ve grown to love. Build some goodwill.”
I suspect that sell-off will happen sooner rather than later. Not just for the sake of the next CEO, but for Iger’s own legacy. He will want to leave while the company is on the upswing, not still in rebuilding mode. I think the next 18 months are sufficient time to divest assets that don’t have long-term brand value and start the next growth cycle.
As for your second to last paragraph, there’s no need to “imagine” Disney embracing such a model…because that’s precisely what Sony did. They’ve arguably been the biggest winner of the streaming war, simply by not playing.
To be blunt I don’t understand what their new role is, but if they’re halfway competent and will help provide sanity checks to big budget decisions then it’s a big plus. You can say hindsight is 20/20 but over the past few years there have been so many baffling big budget blunders that seemed obvious from the get-go you have to wonder who is making the decisions at Disney. From why certain movies are initially released on Disney+ vs the big screen to why some are greenlit at all to why huge budgets are allocated to series and movies with limited viewer potential… just what is going on?
I know I will be blasted for this response- but doesn’t Disney have any Women who could do these jobs? Women are Disney’s number one decision makers.
I have followed Disney and many other organizations for 40 yrs. They always limit themselves to the best tall white men for the jobs. I think that they will have more success if they expand their selection pools beyond tall white men.
They do.
Dana Walden is mentioned here and has been in other past articles about succession; same goes with Christine McCarthy.
The latter won’t be CEO given that she left/was pushed out. The former still seems to have a pretty good shot. We haven’t discussed her much here not because she’s a woman, but because the media/television business is outside my wheelhouse and I’ve heard absolutely nothing about her from insiders. She might be great–I have no clue.
@ Sterling Walker
What an absolutely ridiculous statement. Disney needs to go for the best qualified and not check boxes. Checking boxes is why they are where they are now i.e. losing money.
@HB Honeycutt
I think that’s precisely the point. Sterling was implying that they are checking a box with their current choices, and the best of the best might have been looked over in favor of checking the box for the tall white guy. Perhaps the best of the best has been chosen over the years, even with the limited diversity, but statistics would suggest that isn’t true. The point is to make sure that the best of the best is considered, based on their qualification and nothing else.