“Only one man can control Disney. I know who I’m betting on,” Daniel Gross writes for Slate. “Barely four months into his tenure, Disney CEO Robert Iger has made a bold and possibly suicidal move. Today, Disney announced it would spend $7.4 billion in stock to acquire Pixar, the animation studio that made blockbusters such as Toy Story; Monsters, Inc.; Finding Nemo; and The Incredibles.”
“By acquiring a company with a charismatic, legendary, youngish CEO, Iger at the very least may have made his own job more difficult. At worst, he may have acquired himself out of a job. It’s happened in the past,” Gross writes. “And Jobs has toppled his boss before. In the mid-1980s, Jobs left Apple after a dispute with CEO John Sculley and started a new computer company, NeXT. (This Colin Barker article in Computing provides good background.) In early 1997, Apple CEO Gilbert Amelio, eager to restart Apple’s growth, acquired NeXt and the services of Jobs. In less than six months, Amelio was gone and Jobs assumed the role of CEO.
Gross writes, “Michael Eisner was able to hold on for so long at Disney because his miracle first decade at Disney served as ballast when he came under criticism. Iger won’t have that luxury. Eisner also benefited from the fact that he continually drove away executives who had the capabilities to succeed him. As a result, there was never an obvious replacement for him. Iger won’t have that luxury, either.”
Full article here.
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Related articles:
BusinessWeek: Steve Jobs poised to become the 21st Century’s first real media giant? – January 26, 2006
BBC: Steve Jobs has ‘cemented his position as a main player in the technology and media industries’ – January 26, 2006
SmartMoney: The New King of All Media is Apple’s Steve Jobs – January 24, 2006
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Steve Jobs, Bob Iger appear live on CNBC – January 24, 2006
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Chill… Jobs and iGer are both needed. Disney has many arms and one man cannot manage that. Steve and Bob can, and probably will, do a good job. There will be dis agreements, there always are.
IMHO
Jobs and Iger work TOGETHER well–that’s the whole reason why the merger is going through!
To say Jobs has to run every detail is like saying he’s going to fire Ives so he can design Mac style himself. But actually, jobs has a big hand in that working WITH the lead designer Ives.
Jobs takes control and does it well, that doesn’t mean there’s no other way he can contribute.
I hope His Steveness won’t take the helm at Disney. It would certainly be good for Disney, but Iger looks like he’s in control and I thing it can be argued that Apple’s heading in a positive direction these days.
Business 2.0 magazine lists Iger as the “Smartest CEO of 2005”. Hmmm.
Uhm. I believe that one would be Iger. Disney bought Pixar, not the other way around. Why do so many of you think Jobs is now running Disney?
MW is “property”, as in “Disney is not the property of Pixar.”
As ridiculous as this Slate piece is, it’s no lower than the crap you read in the mainstream press about politics, economics, social issues or international relations penned by almost household names. Gross should be congratulated for sinking to the top.
They will work together, just as long as Iger does exactly what he is told to do by Jobs.
Does it never occur to journos and us, that maybe Iger wants out eventually and sees this deal as the best way to perform that transition.
I mean, so much goes on behind closed doors.
SJ is no different from any other v successful business man, he wouldn’t leave Apple until the company was truly unstoppable and that may take a few years to achieve.
Now he has access to a phenominal library of content, Gates and Murdoch must be thinking very hard and fast on how to stop this rollercoaster.
This really means that SJ has just gone to the top poker table with a big bag of chips.
Does this make sense to anyone?
Bob Iger is the rare media exec that’s not real big on ‘face time’ , buzz & ego– he wants to get things done and let results speak for themselves. He has done a great job in his time as President (under Eisner) and now as Chairman & CEO.
The ABC network has done incredibly well after a turnaround done by Iger and people he put in place. Just a few seasons ago ABC was on the verge of irrelevance among the broadcast networks. Now, with Desperate Housewives, Lost and other shows, ABC is getting the numbers and demographics they want.
With Pixar, Disney will stabilize and grow the animation operations. With John Lassiter, the theme parks will be refreshed and continue to grow. ESPN continues to be a monster, ABC Family is finally getting it’s feet, ABC News and Sports are on a clear path forward and their jointly operated outlets (A & E Networks, Lifetime Networks, SOAP Net) are growing.
The only drags are the O&O radio stations. Even in this space ABC does well in major media markets with talk shows and ESPN Radio.
Steve Jobs has now been freed of his duties at Pixar while not giving up the cache that being a media exec brings. Being on the board at Disney allows him to keep his influence in Hollywood without being tied to the fortunes of Pixar alone. He can now concentrate on Apple Computer and it’s vision and strategy for the digital home and lifestyle.
Both men are interested in results and are in power and at the top of their game. I don’t see a problem.
Yeah, but Business 1.0 had Eisner as the Smartest CEO of all time. Okay, someone tell me why Business 2.0 magazine is 2.0? Did 1.0 go out of business? I’m actually waiting for version 3.1.
KenC – lol, then maybe business bob?
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You guys forget that Steve has the one ring. The one ring to rule them all……
Disney:Pixar is NOT Apple:Next, and Bob Iger is no Gil Amelio.
At Apple, Steve came *back* and put the company back on track to profitability and growth. At the time, the Mac was the “whole widget”.
At Disney, he’s bringing just a *part* (albeit a very profitable and innovative part) to the company. Whilst Disney animation was the real heart and soul of the company, they’re not anymore, and haven’t been for a very long time.
They ARE a prestigious and important part of the company, it’s just that Pixar’s been out-Disneying them for a long time.
Moreover, from all accounts, Steve never really took the deep, day-to-day involvement of Pixar that is his hallmark at Apple; leaving that to John Lasseter.
Now John Lasseter is someone I could clearly see taking over from Iger someday.
MDN admins: DON’T make that smiley crap automatic…you can see clearly why that’s a stupid idea…
This guy is just creating news. SJ was very hands off with Pixar, and his role in Disney will be even smaller.
I don’t think Lassiter would be the one to take Iger’s role either. He’s the creative guy. Ed Catmull was the one running Pixar day to day. SJ only got in there when they needed to unleash the hound. Otherwise he let them do their thing.
None of this Matters.
I have the One Ring to Rule Them ALL!
Bwaa-ha-ha-ha!!!
Sorry Eric…. didn’t see your post. No plagerism intended.
Who’s gonna bitch slap whom?
Drawing historic parallel is cheap “journalism”. By the same token, Mr. Dan Gross, Steve Jobs also hired John Sculley only to see John pushed him out. The situation at Disney is vastly different now and I doubt any thing remotely similar will transpire. It is just some writer trying to fulfill quota and writes for food. I declare traditional “journalism” dead due to the declining standard and easily available information on the internet. People can get the right facts and be well informed rather than relying on those “journalists”.
Disney better start using the Mac company-wide, now. It’s better and can now run pretty much any flavor of Linux, even those obscure corporate ones.
It would also be cool if Disney employees got a big discount on AAPL purchases.
wow.. FUD on the new Disney deal..
lmao