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Credit: Disney, edited by ITMA 2019 self-evaluation by Disney CEO Bob Iger has emerged during the company’s gender-equity pay class action lawsuit, and its glowing, self-congratulatory tone is being criticized in the wake of Disney’s current financial and cultural downfall.
Bob Iger’s self-evaluation (first reported on by The Hollywood Reporter) was initially submitted to a Disney committee as part of his request for a bonus payment before he exited his role as Chief Executive Officer and took a new one as Chairman, a position that he held for less than a year before returning as CEO after the ousting of Bob Chapek.
You can see the Disney CEO’s self-evaluation here:
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Among other things, Bob Iger took credit for the launch of the Disney+ streaming service, the acquisition of 20th Century Fox and its library of IP, gaining operating control of Hulu, the “creative engines” of the company producing dozens of feature films and TV shows, the launch of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney Parks, and $10 billion in box office revenue, specifically highlighting Avengers: Endgame (2019, along with the live-action remake of The Lion King (2019) and Toy Story 4 (2019).
In the self-evaluation, Bob Iger says that under his stewardship, the company “successfully executed a highly-anticipated Investor Day providing an extensive overview of all of our direct-to-consumer offerings” and “launched an unprecedented company-wide marketing effort.” Furthermore, the CEO touted that Disney had been ranked as one of the most trustworthy companies in the world by multiple publications, including Fortune, Forbes, and Fast Company.
To be fair, 2019 was a very good year for Disney, and Bob Iger had a lot to do with that. After all, if, as CEO, Iger can be blamed for the current financial woes and creative stagnancy of Disney, he can be credited with some of its past successes during his first tenure as chief executive.
However, this sunny self-evaluation could not come at a worse time for Bob Iger, who is battling a huge number of issues. Disney is locked in multiple lawsuits with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is publically cursing out Disney and demanding Iger be fired. Disney just filed 12 different lawsuits over property values in Florida. Box office receipts are down, attendance at Disneyland and Walt Disney World has dwindled, and critical reviews of new Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar have rarely been worse.
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Then there is the class action lawsuit that claims Disney systemically pays female employees less than their male counterparts, the paperwork for which revealed this self-evaluation. The court filing for the lawsuit, which represents over 9,000 female Disney employees, can be viewed here.
For the record, Bob Iger’s bonus request was granted, and he received a total compensation package for the year in the amount of $47.5 million, making him one of the highest-paid executives in America.
All in all, this is probably not the best time for Bob Iger to be reminded of how well things used to be going for the Walt Disney Company.
Inside the Magic reached out to Disney for comment on Bob Iger’s self-evaluation, but has not heard back by the time of publishing.
What do you think of Mr. Iger’s appraisal of his past work? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!