10 Things You Didn’t Know About Disney CEO Bob Chapek
There’s a new “Bob” in town, and he’s taken over the CEO position at Disney. As a matter of fact, Bob Chapek is not new to Disney at all. Before he replaced Bob Iger as CEO, he served as Disney’s head of parks and resorts. The announcement of his promotion came to a dramatic surprise on February 25, 2020, and many people were left scratching their heads about this movement. Most people that are outside of Disney operations were simply wondering who exactly Chapek was, especially since he is now taking over leadership of a $220 billion dollar company. Let us introduce you to Bob Chapek here through these 10 facts that you probably didn’t know about him.
1. He’s been with Disney for a long time.
We should all be know already that Disney wouldn’t put an outsider into its CEO position just like that. For those who have never heard of Bob Chapek before, it’s probably because his last position didn’t really put him on the spotlight so much. In fact, Chapek has been with Disney for almost three decades now. That’s loyalty and dedication right there.
2. He’s the 7thCEO in 100 years.
Here’s a good tidbit for Disney aficionados. Disney has had 7 CEOs in the last 100 years, and the last one is Chapek, of course. As CEO, he will report to the current Executive Chairman, who also happens to be the former CEO Bob Iger. Many people are worried for the successor considering how much success Iger had while CEO. The one before CEO also had tremendous success as well. It’s interesting to see what Chapek can do in his new position.
3. He has a degree in microbiology.
Not that it matters really at this point in his career, but Chapek’s degree was actually in microbiology. In a different lifetime, he might’ve been a medical researcher or even a physician. But his calling must truly be with brand development. He got his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington, and he eventually received his MBA from Michigan State University.
4. He’s probably not the most charming in the room.
Everyone loved former CEO Iger. He had Disney written all over his persona. While Chapek may not be the most appealing CEO to follow, it doesn’t mean that he’s not worthy of his new position. Chapek offers a different set of skills and values to the table, some of those being the fact that he’s quite intelligent and extremely organized. He might be just the perfect person to continue the legacy that Iger has put in place.
5. He’s responsible for our favorite rides.
While Iger was responsible for the creative acquisition of entertainment brands such as Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, Chapek was responsible for putting them all into action in the Disney parks. Chapek oversaw the integration of all those brands and films into the parks. Just imagine the expanse of Star Wars’ Galaxy’s Edge at Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. Those are just some of the things that Chapek was responsible for in recent years.
6. He led Disney’s largest expansion efforts.
In the last sixty years, it was Chapek that really spearheaded Disney’s largest expansion efforts. Apart from the expansion of specific parts of existing theme parks, Chapek was also responsible for opening up Disney Shanghai—a huge accomplishment for the company altogether. Chapek was also the one responsible for doubling up the Disney Cruise Line fleet.
7. He’s got a private life.
Although it may seem like a machine that runs itself, Disney actually takes a lot of people working together in order to make it all run smoothly. We may not realize it even when going to the theme parks, but the people there leave after a day’s work and go home to their own families. The same goes for Bob Chapek. He may be CEO of Disney, but he’s also CEO of his own family. It’s only right that the Disney boss should be a family man. Chapek is married to Cynthia Ann Ford, and the couple has three children together. There aren’t more information on their private lives, but we’re sure we’ll hear more in the months to come.
8. He’s got a hefty salary.
For a $200 billion dollar company, you can only expect that the CEO gets a decent salary. After all if he’s expected to run the whole show, he should be compensated well for it. Chapek is reported to get an annual salary of $2.5 million annually. We’re not sure how much of a difference this is from what he was making before, but that kind of salary is plenty to have for any person. Chapek has worked his way up the corporate ladder diligently, and he’s waited for his time to come.
9. He’s only 60 years old.
You might think that 60 years is up there when it comes to age, but that’s actually fairly young for someone running a multi-billion dollar company. If Chapek is 60 years old now that he’s taken this position, it means that he started at Disney when he was just in his early 30s. That’s almost a lifetime ago, but this is a new beginning for him. Before he worked for Disney, Chapek also worked for H.J. Heinz Company and at J. Walter Thompson.
10. He believes that Disney is the best company in the world.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chapek claims that he believes Disney is the best company in the world. There’s not a lot of argument he would get from us on that front, and we can say that Chapek is lucky enough to be working for a company he loves. There’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but we’re all positive that Chapek will continue the successful legacy that Disney already has in motion.
