As shockwaves are still being felt around the world at the stunning boardroom drama at Disney that saw Bob Chapel fired late last night, and his predecessor Bob Iger brought back in as CEO more details are emerging about the behind the scenes drama that led to last nights shocking moves.
According to an article by respected financial news outlet, the Financial Times, senior Walt Disney executives led a rebellion against chief executive Bob Chapek in recent weeks, forcing the board to show Chapek the door.
According to people familiar with the matter, the covert campaign to overthrow Chapek, began as early as the summer, when top executives began losing confidence in Chapek's leadership, which had seen a period of much upheaval during his 33 months at the helm of the comany.
Disney executives began approaching the board a few months ago to express concerns about Chapek’s leadership. of which Christine McCarthy, chief financial officer, was among the executives who complained.
The final straw for company execs was Disney’s poor earnings release on November 8, during which Chapek reported the company’s streaming business had lost $1.5bn during the most recent quarter.
Although Chapek was only informed of his forced departure rom the company Sunday, sources close to the former CEO claim that Chapek became aware of the moves against him some weeks ago but was caught off guard by the speed of events.
For more, read the full article in the FT.
