Disney Paid Bob Iger $2M/Year As CEO Consultant, Despite Strained Relationship With Successor Bob Chapek

Last year, former (and now again) Disney CEO Bob Iger was offered a lucrative $10 million consultancy package.

According to a report by the Financial Times, the five-year consultancy with his former employer would pay him $2 million per year through the end of 2026.

According to Disney corporate filings, Iger was tasked with supporting his successor and offering advice to the new CEO “on such matters as his successor as chief executive officer may request from time to time.” Disney agreed to the deal to get access to “Mr. Iger’s unique skills, knowledge, and experience with regard to the media and entertainment business.”

However, there are whispers that the relationship between Iger and his replacement Bob Chapek had become so strained that Iger’s input was rarely if ever wanted or used by his successor.

Chapek’s reluctance to accept guidance from his former boss is said to have irritated Iger, who was especially unimpressed with how Chapek handled Disney’s response to Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education bill, better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Iger was also clearly unhappy with Chapek’s appointment of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution chairman Kareem Daniel. On his first day back as CEO, Iger dismissed Daniel and made it clear that he would not continue with the previous regime’s heavily data-driven approach to running the company, instead putting “decision-making back in the hands of our creative teams.”

According to the FT report, the consultancy has been put on hold for the duration of Iger’s two-year term as CEO at Disney but will pick up again after that term has finished, at which time he will advise his next successor.

Back in the saddle again, Iger’s current deal sees the executive take about a 40% pay cut from what he was earning at the end of his first 15-year stint in the role. The new package includes a $1 million base salary, a $1 million target bonus, and stock awards valued at $25 million.