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MSU alumnus Bob Chapek named Disney CEO

February 28, 2020
A Michigan State University sign on Beal Street on Aug. 23, 2019.
A Michigan State University sign on Beal Street on Aug. 23, 2019. —
Photo by Annie Barker | The State News

Michigan State graduate Bob Chapek has been named chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company.

Chapek earned a bachelor's degree in microbiology at Indiana University Bloomington and an MBA from MSU in 1984. 

The recent Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, was named CEO by the Board of Directors after then CEO Bob Iger stepped down from his position Feb. 25.

Chapek has been working with Disney for 27 years. Prior to chairman of Disney Parks, experience and products, he served as chairman of parks and resorts from 2015 to 2018.

Iger will assume the role of executive chairman, directing the Company’s creative endeavors through the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021, according to the Walt Disney Company.

Chapek will be serving as the company’s seventh CEO, after Iger had served since 2005.

“I have the utmost confidence in Bob and look forward to working closely with him over the next 22 months as he assumes this new role and delves deeper into Disney’s multifaceted global businesses and operations, while I continue to focus on the Company’s creative endeavors,” Iger said in a press release.

According to The Walt Disney Company, “During his tenure, Disney Parks saw the largest investment and expansion in its sixty-year history, including the successful opening of Shanghai Disney Resort; nearly doubling the Disney Cruise Line fleet.”

Chapek was selected unanimously, said Independent Lead Director of the Disney Board of Directors Susan Arnold in a press release.

“Mr. Chapek has shown outstanding leadership and a proven ability to deliver strong results across a wide array of businesses, and his tremendous understanding of the breadth and depth of the Company and appreciation for the special connection between Disney and its consumers makes him the perfect choice as the next CEO,” Arnold said.

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