Robert Allen Iger is an American media executive who is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously was the President of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) between 1994 and 1995 and President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Capital Cities/ABC, from 1995 until its acquisition by Disney in 1996. Iger was named President of Disney in 2000 and succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005, until his contract expired in 2020. He then was Executive Chairman until his retirement from the company on December 31, 2021. After his exit from the company, Iger continued as an advisor to his successor. However, at the request of Disney's board of directors, Iger returned to Disney as CEO on November 20 2022, following the unscheduled and immediate dismissal of his appointed successor, Bob Chapek. In July 2023, Disney renewed Iger's contract until 2026. Iger's 2023 pay package included a base salary of $865,385, stock awards of $16.1 million, $10 million in stock option awards, $2.1 million in performance-based compensation and $2.48 million in other compensation, leading to a total pay award of $31.6 million, according to Disney's annual proxy statement.
Iger in 2013
The Walt Disney Company is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company in 1986. In 1928, Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film Steamboat Willie. The film used synchronized sound to become the first post-produced sound cartoon, and popularized Mickey Mouse, who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon.
Walt Disney Studios, the company's headquarters in Burbank, California, 2016
The original animation building at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940
Walt (right) dressed as a gaucho next to Donald Duck in Argentina while on the company's South American goodwill trip in 1941.
Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954