Robert Allen Iger (/ˈaɪɡər/; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company.[3][4][5] Before Disney, Iger served as the president of ABC Television from 1994 to 1995 and the president and chief operating officer (COO) of Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. from 1995 until Disney's acquisition of the company in 1996.[6][7] He was named president and COO of Disney in 2000, and later succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005, after a successful effort by Roy E. Disney to shake up the management of the company.[8][9] As part of his yearly compensation, Iger earned $44.9 million in 2015.[1]
During Iger’s tenure, Disney broadened the company's roster of intellectual properties and its presence in international markets; Iger oversaw the acquisitions of Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion, Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion, Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.06 billion,[10] and 21st Century Fox in 2017 for $52.4 billion,[11] as well as the expansion of the company's theme park resorts in East Asia, with the introduction of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort in 2005 and 2016, respectively.[12] Iger was also a driving force behind the reinvigoration of Walt Disney Animation Studios and the branded-release strategy of its film studio's output.[13][14] Under Iger's control, Disney has experienced increases in revenue across its various divisions, with the company's market capitalization value increasing from $48.4 billion to $163 billion over a period of eleven years.[10][15] As a result, Disney has been recognized as one of the "World's Most Reputable Companies" by Forbes (2006–2015), one of "America's Most Admired Companies" by Fortune Magazine (2009–2015), one of the “World's Most Respected Companies" by Barron’s (2009–2014), a “Best Place to Launch a Career” by BusinessWeek Magazine (2006–2010), and a "Company of the Year" by Yahoo Finance (2013).[3]
Over the course of his career, Iger has
