Bob Iger - Biography

Robert A. "Bob" Iger (born February 10, 1951) is the president and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. He was named president of Disney in 2000, and later succeeded Michael Eisner as chief executive in 2005, after a successful effort by Roy E. Disney to shake-up the management of the company. Iger oversaw the acquisition of Pixar in 2006, following a period of strained relations with the animation studio. He also led the company to acquire Marvel Entertainment, further broadening the Disney company's character franchises, in 2009.

Early life

Iger was born in Long Island, New York. His mother worked at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside, New York and his father was executive vice president and general manager of the Greenvale Marketing Corporation, and a professor of advertising and public relations.

Iger completed his undergraduate studies at Ithaca College where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Television & Radio from Ithaca's Roy H. Park School of Communications. He then began his career as a weatherman for a local television station. He joined the American Broadcasting Company in 1974 and gradually rose through its ranks. Iger was instrumental in convincing ABC to pick up David Lynch's offbeat but influential Twin Peaks. He served as president of the ABC Network Television Group from 1993-94, and then was named president and chief operating officer of ABC's corporate parent, Capital Cities/ABC. In 1996, The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC and renamed it ABC, Inc., where Iger remained president until 1999.

Disney

On February 25, 1999, Disney named Iger president of Walt Disney International, the business unit that oversees Disney's international operations, as well as chairman of the ABC Group. Disney called the change a promotion for Iger. But the company's insistence was initially viewed with skepticism, as some thought Iger was merely being removed from day-to-day authority at ABC since ABC had been struggling.

Disney named Iger its president and chief operating officer on January 25, 2000, making him the company's number two executive under Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner. The company had been without a separate president since Eisner assumed the role following the departure of Michael Ovitz in 1997, after sixteen months at Disney.

On March 13, 2005, Disney announced that Iger would succeed Eisner as chief executive officer. On March 26, Iger reassigned Peter Murphy, the company's chief strategic officer, and pledged to disband the company's strategic planning division. Iger also vowed to restore much of the decision-making authority that the division had assumed to the company's individual business units.

The company reconciled with former board members Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold, who in July 2005 dropped their "Save Disney" campaign and agreed to work with Iger. In the process, Roy Disney was named a director emeritus and consultant.

On January 24, 2006, Disney announced it would acquire Pixar for $7.4 billion in an all-stock transaction. The merger installed animator John Lasseter as chief creative officer of the Disney/Pixar animation studios and principal creative adviser for Walt Disney Imagineering, the division that designs theme park attractions. It also made Steve Jobs Disney's top shareholder with seven percent of outstanding shares, and gave him a new seat on Disney's board of directors. In the same year, he also re-acquired the rights to Walt Disney's first star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from NBCUniversal to release sportscaster Al Michaels from ABC Sports to NBC Sports.

Roy Disney, who had been critical of Iger for his role as Eisner's deputy, issued this statement: "Animation has always been the heart and soul of the Walt Disney Company and it is wonderful to see Bob Iger and the company embrace that heritage by bringing the outstanding animation talent of the Pixar team back into the fold. This clearly solidifies the Walt Disney Company's position as the dominant leader in motion picture animation and we applaud and support Bob Iger's vision."

Iger has cited international expansion, technological innovation and a renewed focus on traditional animation as the company's top strategic priorities. On October 7, 2011, Disney announced that Iger will become chairman following John Pepper's retirement from the board in March 2012.

On Tuesday November 15, 2011, Apple, Inc., now led by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook after Steve Jobs's death, named Iger as a Director and named Genentech Chairman Arthur Levinson, an Apple board member with a past membership on rival Google's board, as Jobs's replacement in the role of non-executive Chairman; both will serve on Apple's Audit Committee (Jobs had worked with Iger in the Pixar acquisition- making Jobs Disney's largest shareholder, and Iger had let ABC shows become available on iTunes).

Compensation

While CEO of Walt Disney in 2009, Iger earned total compensation of $29,028,362, which included a base salary of $2,038,462, a cash bonus of $9,260,000, stock awards of $6,336,509 and option awards of $8,308,647. Iger earned a $13.5 million bonus in 2010, which was a 45.4% increase from 2009.

Personal life

Iger is married to journalist Willow Bay and has two children with Bay, and two from a previous marriage. His children are named Katie and Amanda (from his first marriage) and Robert Maxwell and Will (from his second marriage).

External links

• Corporate biography