Thomas Staggs, Disney’s Heir Apparent, Is Stepping Down

[Barry McB]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/business/media/thomas-staggs-walt-disney-company.html?_r=0&referer=https://www.google.com/
Thomas Staggs, Disney’s Heir Apparent, Is Stepping Down
LOS ANGELES — Thomas O. Staggs, the favored contender to leadDisneyafterRobert A. Iger’s retirement, is making a surprise exit from the company, throwing succession into disorder. His departure will also be an internal distraction as Disney prepares to unveil Shanghai Disneyland, a crucial project that Mr. Staggs had helped guide.
The exit of Mr. Staggs, who became the Walt Disney Company’s No. 2 executive last year, beating out another candidate,was announcedby the company on Monday.
Disney said Mr. Staggs would step down as its chief operating officer early next month. Over the last year, as Mr. Staggs came under intense scrutiny by Disney’s board, it became clear that at least some board members were not convinced that Mr. Staggs, 55, had the skills required to maintain Disney’s creative momentum. Mr. Staggs and Disney mutually decided to part ways.
Disney has tended to choose chief executives from within, but the board may now look outside for a successor to Mr. Iger, who has led Disney to record-breaking results.
“Tom has been a great friend and trusted colleague for more than 20 years,” Mr. Iger said in a statement. “He’s made important contributions to this company, earning wide respect across the organization for his achievements and personal integrity. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, immensely grateful for the privilege of working with him, and confident that he will be enormously successful in whatever opportunity he chooses.”
Last year, when Mr. Staggs was elevated to chief operating officer from theme park chairman, Disney insisted that itwas not a coronation. The company acknowledged, however, that the promotion made Mr. Staggs Mr. Iger’s handpicked heir, pending the board’s approval. Mr. Iger said in 2014 that he would step down as chief executive and chairman in June 2018, a two-year extension from a previously announced retirement.
Disney has a history of bumpy transitions of power. When Michael D. Eisner turned over control to Mr. Iger in 2005, the changeover became an example ofwhat not to do. It got so bad that Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney, used the lack of succession planning in a public attack on Mr. Eisner.
A decade earlier, Disney endured a lesser degree of succession strife with Jeffrey Katzenberg, who resigned as chairman of Walt Disney Studios after Mr. Eisner refused to promote him to president of the broader company. There was also an ill-fated run by Michael S. Ovitz as president of the entertainment conglomerate.
In many ways, choosing a successor for Mr. Iger is a near-impossible task. Under his leadership, Disney has made a number of transformative acquisitions, including buying Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm and Pixar Animation Studios. Last year, Disney had $8.4 billion in profit, a 12 percent increase from the year before.

[KeithS]

You beat me to it Barry - I was about to post this exact article!

Big news for Disney in the long term - I liked Tom Staggs and he seemed to me the go-to man once Iger retired, but I guess he just didn't think big enough for the board.  Iger has had an amazing reign and the board obviously wanted someone with a similar vision for corporate acquisitions and expansions.

Anyone nervous about what may happen down the track?

[mushu mama]

I'd be interested to know if he jumped or was he pushed?
so far today, I've read theories that span from 'the shanghai sacrificial lamb'  to 'I want another Walt to run the company so poor people can go to Disney again'. 
I hope they can find an heir that keeps the balance of quality entertainment and happy shareholders.  I don't usually take much notice of the business side of Disney, but I do find this intriguing. 
It intrigues me also, how many people 'know' what Walt would want  ( this comes up every time anyone dares to mention Starwars and Disney in the same breath on some Disney pages).  Personally, I think Walt's brand of 'visionary' is rare,  he was the double threat of Ideas man and businessman ( after a few hurdles) who was remarkable at making art bankable. Even after 50 years of his absence, its hard to find the right fit for his Cinderella-like shoes.  

[KeithS]

It intrigues me also, how many people 'know' what Walt would want

Yeah - I hate reading that too in online posts.  Walt's genius was knowing what the public would want, before the public themselves knew they wanted it - so I don't know how people think they know what Walt would like now.

His ability to anticipate the public's wants is a very hard skill to pull off successfully which is what made him such a rare breed

[mushu mama]

His ability to anticipate the public's wants is a very hard skill to pull off successfully which is what made him such a rare breed

yup...

[ajp]

My initial thinking on this was that perhaps he wanted to gain some non-Disney exposure to broaden his skillset before making a grand return to the top job. Perhaps that was just my positive outlook on things. I agree with Lisa and Keith, I hope that the post Iger boss is able to deliver the excitement and quality were getting from the recent acquisitions as well as from the studios, whilst stil maintaining the feel of the parks we have grown to love.

[KeithS]

I hope that the post Iger boss is able to deliver the excitement and quality were getting from the recent acquisitions as well as from the studios

Yes - we need someone who cares about quality as well as shareholder value.  We've seen in the past what happens when it is just shareholder value that is in the executive's eyes.