Bob Iger

Bob Iger
Iger in June 2013
Born	Robert Allen Iger February 10, 1951 New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Citizenship	USA
Alma mater	Ithaca College
Occupation	Entertainment executive
Years active	1974–present
Employer	The Walt Disney Company
Title	Chairman and CEO
Predecessor	Michael Eisner
Board member of	Apple Inc.
Spouse(s)	Susan[1] (divorced; 2 children) Willow Bay (1995–present; 2 children)
Parent(s)	Arthur L. & Mimi Iger
Signature

Robert Allen "Bob" Iger^[2] (born February 10, 1951)^[3] is an American businessman who is presently the chairman 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 Animation Studios in 2006, following a period of strained relations with the animation studio. He also led the company to acquire Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012, further broadening Disney's intellectual property franchises.

Early life

Iger was born to a Jewish family^[4][5][6] in New York City, New York,^[3] the son of Mimi and Arthur L. Iger.^[7] His father was a World War II veteran,^[7] served as the executive vice president and general manager of the Greenvale Marketing Corporation, and also as a professor of advertising and public relations. His mother worked at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside.^[4][8] He was raised in the Long Island town of Oceanside, New York, where he attended the Fulton Avenue School^[9] and later graduated from high school.^[10]

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.^[11] He then began his career as a weatherman for a local television station.^[12] 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. In 1989, Iger was named to head up ABC Entertainment. He served as president of the ABC Network Television Group from January 1993 to 1994, while being appointed as Capital Cities/ABC senior vice president in March 1993 and executive vice president in July 1993.^[13] Bob in 1994 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.^[3]

The Walt Disney Company

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.^[14]

Disney named Iger its president and chief operating officer on January 24, 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.^[15]

On March 13, 2005, Disney announced that Bob Iger would succeed Michael Eisner as chief executive officer (CEO). 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 advisor 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, Iger also re-acquired the rights to Walt Disney's first star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from NBCUniversal by releasing sportscaster Al Michaels from ABC Sports to NBC Sports.

Iger at the World of Color Premiere, Disney California Adventure, June 2010

Roy E. 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 embraces 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.^[16]

Iger has cited international expansion, technological innovation, and a renewed focus on traditional animation as the company's top strategic priorities.^[17] On October 7, 2011, Disney announced that Iger would become chairman following John Pepper's retirement from the board in March 2012.^[18]

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 licensed ABC shows to Apple for purchase through iTunes).^[19]

Iger's position as Disney's CEO and chairman will remain until June 30, 2018.^[20][21]

Compensation

While CEO of Walt Disney in 2009, Iger earned a total compensation of $29 million, 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.^[22] Iger earned a $13.5 million bonus in 2010, which was a 45.4% increase from 2009.^[23] He made $34.3M in 2013, with his cash bonus down 14.7% from the previous year.^[24]

While CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2015, Iger earned a total compensation of $46.5 million, of which $2,500,000 was salary. $8.9 million was in stock awards, $8.3 million in option awards, $22.8 million in non-equity incentives, $2.8 million in change-in-pension value, $1.1 million "other" compensation, $391,411 for personal air travel and $614,582 for security.^[25]

National Football League

In November 2015, the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers of the National Football League named Iger as the head of their effort to build a new stadium hosting both teams in Carson, California. Had the bid been accepted by the league, Iger also had the option to purchase a minority ownership in one of the teams, NFL rules preventing him from having an ownership stake in both however with the league approving the Rams move to Los Angeles and the Inglewood proposal he no longer is the head of the Carson project and can no longer purchase a stake in either one of the teams.^[26]

Personal life

Iger has been married twice. His first marriage to Kathleen Susan Iger^[27] ended in divorce. They had two children: Kathleen Pamela Iger and Amanda Iger. In 2005, Kathleen Pamela married Jarrod Alan Cushing in a civil ceremony at the Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum in Rhode Island.^[27]

In 1995, he married journalist Willow Bay in an interfaith Jewish and Roman Catholic service in Bridgehampton, New York.^[2] They have two children, Robert Maxwell "Max" Iger, and William Iger.

In June 2012, Steven Spielberg, Founder of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, presented Iger with the Institute’s highest honor, the Ambassador for Humanity Award. Iger was recognized for his support of the Institute’s work, his longtime philanthropy, and his leadership role in corporate citizenship.^[28]

References

1. "Robert Iger 1951— Biography - sources for further information".
2. "Willow Bay And Robert Iger". The New York Times. October 8, 1995. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
3. Newcomb, Horace, ed. (2004). Encyclopedia of Television. Routledge (Second edition). p. 1168. ISBN 978-1579583941.
4. Temple Avodah website: "Famous members - Robert Iger, President & CEO, Disney Corporation" retrieved October 11, 2012
5. "Arab voice of Donald Duck tweets for Israel to be ‘demolished’". JTA. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
6. Masters, Kim (September 12, 2011). "Does Disney's 9/11 Video Hint at Bob Iger's Political Aspirations?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
7. Newsday: "Arthur L. Iger Obituary" May 25, 2010
8. "NYT Notices, Willow Bay and Robert Iger". NYT. 2008. Retrieved 2008.
9. Whitehouse, Beth (July 23, 2013). "Disney CEO Robert Iger helps his LI elementary school get playground". Newsday. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
10. Barnes, Brooks (April 10, 2010). "Is Disney’s Chief Having a Cinderella Moment?". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
11. "Ithaca College Alumnus Bob Iger Named Marketwatch CEO of the Year". Ithaca College. 2006. Retrieved 2009.
12. "Looking beyond the mouse". The Economist. January 26, 2006.
13. Lowry, Brian (July 27, 1993). "ABC ups Iger, regroups divisions". Variety. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
14. Weinraub, Bernard (January 25, 2000). "Disney Names New President In Reshuffling". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
15. Goldsmith, Jill (January 24, 2000). "Iger tapped No. 2 as Mouse TV booms". Variety. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
16. "Disney Forum (TBA)  : News". Archived from the original on 24 December 2010.
17. "Startups, Entrepreneurs and Innovation - Upstart Business Journal". Upstart Business Journal. 8 February 2016.
18. "The Walt Disney Company Extends Contract to 2016 for Robert A. Iger" (Press release). The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
19. "Bob Iger Named Director Of Apple, Arthur Levinson Named Chairman Of The Board". Huffington Post. November 15, 2011.
20. Graser, Marc (October 2, 2014). "Bob Iger to Remain Disney Chief through 2018". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
21. Fritz, Ben (October 2, 2014). "Disney Extends CEO Bob Iger’s Contract Until 2018". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
22. "Equilar - 404".
23. Lublin, Joann S. (March 17, 2011). "Executive Bonuses Bounce Back". The Wall Street Journal.
24. David Lieberman. "Disney’s Bob Iger Made $34.3M In 2013, -14.7% - Deadline". Deadline.
25. David Lieberman. "Disney’s Bob Iger Made $46.5M In 2014, Up 35.5% - Deadline". Deadline.
26. Bonsignore, Vincent. "Disney CEO Bob Iger to lead Chargers-Raiders effort to bring NFL to Carson". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
27. New York Times: "Kathleen Iger and Jarrod Cushing" September 25, 2005
28. US Shoah Foundation: "Steven Spielberg and USC Shoah Foundation Institute honor Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company" June 11, 2012

External links

• Corporate biography

Media related to Bob Iger at Wikimedia Commons