Bob Chapek

Robert Chapek is an American media executive and businessman who is chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. Before becoming CEO on February 25, 2020, he had a 26 year career with the Walt Disney Company, beginning in the Home Entertainment division, and rising to become the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

Bob Chapek
Born
Robert Chapek

1959/1960 (age 60–61)
Education
EmployerThe Walt Disney Company
Home townHammond, Indiana, U.S.
TitleCEO
PredecessorBob Iger
Spouse(s)Cynthia Ann Ford
Children3

Early life

Robert Chapek was born in 1960 in Hammond, Indiana. to a working mother and father. His father was a World War II veteran. Because both of his parents worked, Chapek described himself as a "latch-key kid" at a time when this was uncommon. Chapek said that watching both parents work "instilled a work ethic in me, and [they] worked hard for the nicer things in life. I saw their role-modeling, and it made a permanent impact on my drive and ambition."[1] His family went on annual trips to Walt Disney World.[2]

Chapek graduated from Clark High School in 1977. He later went on to get his bachelor's degree in microbiology at Indiana University Bloomington and his Master of Business Administration Degree at Michigan State University.[3]

Early Career

Chapek worked for the H. J. Heinz Company in brand management[2] and in advertising for J. Walter Thompson before joining The Walt Disney Company in 1993.

Career with The Walt Disney Company

Home Entertainment

Chapek began his career with the Walt Disney Company in 1993. He started as the marketing director for Disney's home entertainment division, which at that point was still very much focused on VHS tapes. The then-CEO Michael Eisner described Chapek by saying, "He was always an executive that you knew would be on the rise... He knew how to grow the business while adjusting to the changing marketplace, which was intense." Chapek is credited for bringing Disney's home entertainment division into the digital age, by focusing on releasing properties on DVD and later Blu Ray discs.[4]

In July 2006, he was promoted to become the president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment, which included all home video, DVD, and Blu Ray releases for all of the various division.[5]

In 2009, he became president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios.[6]

President of Consumer Products

Chapek was appointed president of Disney Consumer Products in September 2011.[7] After the acquisition of Lucasfilm, Chapek integrated Star Wars merchandise into Disney's licensing program, ensuring that Disney became the world's largest licensor of intellectual property.[8] In 2013, Chapek secured a deal with Hasbro, whereby the toy company paid Disney $80 million in royalties to extend the license for Marvel toys and an agreement for Hasbro to pay Disney up to $225 million for the rights to forthcoming Star Wars merchandise.[9]

In 2014, Chapek launched the Disney Imagicademy, which was a suite of numerous tablet and smart-phone apps designed to give children high quality learning games.[10] This was Disney's first full foray into the learning-app market. Chapek said he spearheaded this initiative after numerous parents told his department that they found it difficult to find high quality learning apps of the thousands that were available online.[11]

Chairman of Parks and Resorts

On February 23, 2015, Chapek was named chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts effective that day to replace Thomas O. Staggs, who was promoted to Disney Company Chief operating officer earlier in the month.[12][13] Chapek immediately began working towards the completion and launch of Shanghai Disneyland in 2016, which hosted over 11 million guests in its first year of operation.[14] He also oversaw the completion and launch of Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2017.[15] Chapek also directly managed the construction and opening of the new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.[16] Chapek said of Galaxy's Edge, "It's the most immersive land we have ever built," citing the themed restaurants, shops and roaming interactive characters. Disney reportedly spent $1 billion on the sprawling 14-acre land in Disneyland in Anaheim, prompting CNN to comment that "Disney spared no expense."[17]

As Chairman of Parks and Resorts, Chapek invested over $24 billion into the theme parks, attractions, hotels and cruise ships. The New York Times noted that Chapek's spending was more money than Disney spent in acquiring Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm combined.[18]

In the fall of 2017, after parks and resorts recorded at 14% increase in operating income, many in the media began to speculate that Chapek would likely succeed Bob Iger as the next Disney CEO.[19][20]

In March of 2018, after a reorganization of divisions in order to prepare for the launch of Disney Plus, Chapek was given back the consumer products divisions (including the Disney Stores), in addition to his responsibilities for all of the parks and resorts and related experiences. Then, CEO Bob Iger said, “Bob [Chapek] comes to this new role with an impressive record of success at both parks and resorts and consumer products, and he is the perfect leader to run these combined teams.” This furthered speculation that Chapek would be Iger's successor.[21][22] [23]

In August of 2019, Chapek announced that he had negotiated a retail collaboration to open 25 mini Disney Store shops within select Target department stores across the United States. Chapek stated that people who purchase Disney products were already likely to shop at Target, and the deal gives Disney the opportunity to expand its own footprint beyond traditional shopping malls.[24] The Disney mini-shops will be an average of 750 square feet and be located near Target's kids clothing and toy departments. They'll have more than 450 items, including more than 100 products previously only available at Disney retail locations.[25]

Chief Executive Officer

In February 2020, Chapek was named chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company replacing Bob Iger, who will remain as Executive Chairman until 2021.[26] In April 2020, Chapek was elected to Walt Disney Co.'s board of directors.[27] It was later revealed, the same month, that while Chapek remained CEO, Iger had resumed control of the company's operational duties for the time being, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28]

In numerous interviews with financial news outlets, Chapek has said he is focusing on opening Disney's theme parks. In May of 2020, Shanghai Disneyland opened with limited guest capacity capped at approximately 24,000 visitors per day, pursuant to government regulations. Chapek acknowledged that this was a "baby step" but found the attendance figures encouraging, considering that the limited number of tickets were selling out. Chapek vowed to increase capacity in the weeks to come, albeit in a conservative manner.[29] [30]

Chapek said that when Walt Disney World opens in July of 2020, both employees and guests will be required to take temperature checks, wear face masks, and observe social distancing guidelines. He said that the company would continue to work with local government and healthcare professionals to open the parks responsibly. He added that when the parks reopened, the first attraction he'll ride will be Pirates of the Caribbean.[31][32]

Personal life

Chapek has been married to his wife Cynthia for 40 years and together they have three children and three grandchildren.[2]

gollark: We MUST depose lyricly for this.
gollark: Yes. Apply addition to poster.
gollark: These people VOTED. You are INVALIDATING votes because you are scared this MAY ACTUALLY REACH YOUR TARGET.
gollark: Oh yes, how vote manipulation to ask people.
gollark: <@319753218592866315> CEASE.

References
  1. "Region Native has Keys to Magic Kingdom".
  2. Low, Elaine (February 26, 2020). "Bob Chapek: Who Is the New Disney CEO?". Variety. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  3. Potempa, Philip. "OFFBEAT with PHIL POTEMPA: Disney career magic continues for Hammond's Bob Chapek". The Northwest Indiana Times. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  4. "Disney Parks Chairman Bob Chapek Focuses on Tech, Franchises".
  5. "Bob Chapek, Walt Disney Co: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  6. Graser, Marc (February 5, 2015). "Disney Promotion Raises CFO, Theme Park Questions". Variety. Retrieved February 25, 2020. Chapek had been president of distribution for the Walt Disney Studios for two years and was president of the studios’ homevideo arm prior to that.
  7. Chmielewski, Dawn C. (September 10, 2011). "Disney names Robert Chapek head of consumer products group". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  8. "Disney Consumer Products Poised for Incremental Retail Sales Growth with Lucasfilm Licensing and Robust Content Pipeline".
  9. "Hasbro Extends Disney Pact for Marvel, Star Wars Toys and Games".
  10. "Disney Will Launch Its First Imagicademy Learning Apps On Dec. 11".
  11. "Disney's New App with Mickey and Friends Makes Learning Magical".
  12. Barnes, Brooks (February 23, 2015). "Disney Names Robert Chapek Chairman for Theme Parks". New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  13. Littleton, Cynthia (February 5, 2015). "Disney Promotes Tom Staggs to No. 2 Post, Positioning Him as Iger's Successor". Variety.com. Variety Magazine. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  14. "Shanghai Disney welcomes 11m visitors in first year".
  15. "Fancy a Trip to Pandora? Inside the new Disney Project Bringing Avatar to Life".
  16. "Disney Parks Name Star Wars lands Galaxy's Edge".
  17. "Disney Spared No Expense in Building Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge".
  18. "Disney Is Spending More on Theme Parks Than It Did on Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm Combined".
  19. "Bob Iger Successor Emerges at Disney".
  20. "Disney Theme Parks Boss Could Be Tapped as Next CEO".
  21. "Bob Chapek Expands Duties in Disney Reorganization".
  22. "Disney Announces Strategic Reorganization Ahead of the Launch of Netflix Rival".
  23. "Disney Elevates Two Top Executives in Possible CEO Bake-Off".
  24. "Disney is Putting Dozens of Stores inside Target Locations while Target Set to Open at Walt Disney World Resort".
  25. "Disney and Target Announce 25 Disney Shops Coming to Target Stores in October".
  26. "Bob Chapek named Walt Disney Co. CEO, replacing Bob Iger". Los Angeles Times. February 25, 2020.
  27. "New Disney CEO Bob Chapek elected to the board". Los Angeles Times. April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  28. Smith, Ben (April 13, 2020). "Bob Iger Thought He Was Leaving on Top. Now, He's Fighting for Disney's Life". New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  29. "Shanghai Disneyland Tickets Sellout for Opening Day, Signaling Pent Up Demand for Theme Parks".
  30. "Disney Will Increase Shanghai Park Attendance by 5,000 Per Week, CEO Bob Chapek Says".
  31. "Disney CEO Explains Why It's Safe to Go Back to Disney World".
  32. "Disney CEO Chapek Confident in Safety of Theme Park Reopening Plan".
Business positions
Preceded by
Bob Iger		 CEO of The Walt Disney Company
2020–		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.