Report Says Disney CEO Bob Iger to Step Down Before End of 2026

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Bob Iger, the 74-year-old CEO of Disney, was expected to retire at the end of his contract this year. However, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal (via Variety), he may be stepping down even earlier. Iger has reportedly told colleagues he plans to leave his role and reduce his day-to-day involvement with the company before his contract expires on December 3, 2026. An announcement about who will replace him as CEO is expected soon – well before his contract ends.

Bob Iger is considered one of the most successful leaders in Disney’s history. He became CEO in 2005, following a difficult period for the company under Michael Eisner. During his first fifteen years, he strategically acquired major companies and franchises, including Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox. By 2019, Disney had become a massive entertainment powerhouse, with seven of its films each earning over a billion dollars at the box office – Avengers: Endgame alone grossed over $2 billion. For a period, Iger transformed Disney into the world’s leading movie studio.

As a lifelong movie fan, I have to say the last few years at Disney have been… rocky. When Bob Iger stepped down in 2020, his successor, Bob Chapek, just didn’t seem to get it, and things quickly went downhill. Thankfully, Iger returned in late 2022 to try and fix things, but even his second run hasn’t been without issues. The whole Jimmy Kimmel situation was weird, and I’m honestly concerned about Disney licensing out its classic characters for AI use. Whoever takes over next is going to have a huge mess on their hands – just as big a cleanup job as Iger faced after Michael Eisner left. It’s a fascinating, and a little worrying, time for a company that’s been such a huge part of the cultural landscape for a hundred years, and I’m really curious to see what happens next.

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2026-01-31 02:02