Kathleen Kennedy To Succeed Bob Iger As Disney's CEO

TV & Film

Apr 1

Disney quietly released a statement officially naming Kathleen Kennedy Bob Iger’s successor over the entertainment giant. After Iger’s departure back in 2021, board members appointed Bob Chapek as CEO. Chapek was ambitious and wanted to restructure to help the Disney+ platform grow and offer more content. He also made numerous changes throughout the Disney parks.

Meanwhile, board members were impressed with Kennedy’s work at Lucasfilm after she guided the triumphant return of the Star Wars franchise. After the launch of Disney+, Kennedy produced some of the platform’s most popular programs, including The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and the upcoming Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew series.

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After Iger announced that he would be stepping down in 2019, Kennedy and Iger met several times to discuss Kennedy becoming his potential successor. Chapek was named CEO instead. However, those talks never stopped. Iger, Kennedy, and several board members quietly discussed plans to appoint Kennedy as the next CEO.

After Chapek’s abrupt departure, Disney knew that they couldn’t immediately hire Kennedy as CEO, because they wanted someone who had experience within the main Disney company, and Iger graciously returned as CEO. Iger made sure to let the board know that his return would only be temporary.

Knowing that the transition will take time, Disney decided to announce Kennedy as the next CEO, so that she and Iger can begin to work together in an official capacity. As of this writing, no one has been named as the next president of Lucasfilm, although some reports have named Jon Favreau as a front-runner.

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