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Bob Iger reportedly met with employees at Disney headquarters on Monday.
His appearance marks his first since surprising the media by returning as Disney CEO last week.
The meeting
On Monday, Bob Iger discussed several corporate issues, such as Disney’s current hiring freeze and its focus on the Disney+ streaming platform.
The prodigal Disney CEO underlined his goal upon his return to the company: creativity.
Speaking at a town hall meeting at Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, California, Iger told employees the hiring freeze would remain in place for the time being.
Hiring freeze
Earlier this month, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced a hiring freeze.
Chapek’s time as CEO was brief, but it was also hectic.
Still, Bob Iger said the company should keep the freeze, especially with Disney’s challenges.
Additionally, Iger said the length of the hiring freeze will be a factor in assessing Disney’s overall “cost structure.”
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Return
The announcement of Bob Iger’s return comes at a difficult time for Disney, which faces many challenges in its media empire.
One of the company’s challenges is a competitive price that has been consistently sluggish in 2022 and a streaming company that loses money as it grows.
According to Iger, Disney’s streaming success is measured by several metrics, but the most critical factor was growth in 2021.
Since then, the focus has shifted to the “bottom line” and how much the company is losing and when it will be profitable.
Creativity
Instead of chasing subscriptions with aggressive marketing and content expense, Iger says the company needs to start chasing profitability.
Disney would have to closely examine the cost structure of all of its businesses to achieve profitability.
However, Iger emphasizes that the company must focus on creativity.
“A number of you who worked with me know that I’m obsessed with it,” said Iger, referring to Disney’s creative muscle.
“But I’m obsessed with that for a reason. It is what drives the company.”
The returning CEO made it clear that it’s not about what Disney creates.
Rather, it’s about how “great the things are that we do create.”
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Impact
Bob Iger wasted no time making his mark on Disney.
Shortly after the announcement, he overhauled the company’s content distribution structure.
He also announced that Kareem Daniel, president of Disney’s media and entertainment distribution unit, will be leaving the company.
On Monday, Bob Iger tweeted a photo from Disney headquarters, saying he was grateful and thrilled to be back.
Reference:
Bob Iger lays out his priorities for Disney as he returns as CEO
