What if Disney Still Needs Bob Iger in 2019?

We're two summers away from the end of the Bob Iger era at Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), and this time it doesn't seem as if it's a head fake. Disney's CEO is insisting this week that he plans to stick to his plan to leave the media giant once his contract ends on July 2, 2019. Iger's contract has been extended three times, the last being earlier this year.

"This time I really mean it," he said at the time of his springtime extension. He essentially repeated those words on Tuesday afternoon when he presented at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit. 

Iger will be 68 at that point, but he doesn't seem to have any interest in riding off into the sunset of a cozy and well-earned retirement. Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, and CNBC have all reported in recent months that Iger associates have been nudging him to consider running for president in 2020. There's no shortage of celebrities and business executives that have publicly pondered the possibility of vying for the highest political office in three years, but let's turn our attention back to the roost that Iger is presently ruling. What if Disney doesn't have a clear replacement for Iger by the summer of 2019? What if there are too many transitions and transformations taking place within the multi-dimensional entertainment behemoth itself to make any handoff at the helm risky? What if Disney still needs Iger? 

Continue reading

Source: Fool.com