Another clip from the Michael Eisner interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger includes his thoughts on Bob Iger, as well as the idea of succession not going well.

Michael Eisner on Succession

The clip starts with Graham Bensinger, the interviewer, asking him about Disney today and what he thinks about the state of the company today:

I think the company is in great shape. I think Bob [Iger] has been an excellent CEO.

He continues by saying he is happy that Iger was the person he recommended and that he got it through the board. He was not the board’s first choice for successor, but was ultimately the unanimous choice: “He understands the company.”

The interviewer comments on the difficulty of succession. “Most of the time it doesn’t go well,’ Eisner comments. “Going to the outside is dangerous. People on the inside who are capable are the better way to go.”

“Bob’s predecessor died (Frank Wells), and he became the number two in the company after a mistake which we’ve all made (probably referring to Michael Ovitz)[…] He understood it and spent a decade with me, and our design people and the parks, and he knew it there. It was so obvious. I think he did a good job.”

The interviewer then asks if he thinks Chapek was given enough time:

That was a marriage made in hell. Bob [Iger] and Chapek. It was a mistake. You know, Bob (Iger) really wasn’t ready to leave completely, and Chapek was going to prove that he was the boss, doing stupid things, not necessary things, separating the distribution from the creative and the movie business, all those things like that. Bob (Iger) recognized it, couldn’t help himself, probably in noting it. Chapek was a mistake. I hired, well, I don’t know if I hired him, but I certainly approved him to run home video. He did a great job at home video. He did a good job with the parks, but he just was the wrong choice. That’s all.

Another clip from former Disney CEO Michael Eisner’s interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger includes Eisner and his wife Jane discussing her role in the famous “I’m going to Disney World!” Super Bowl ad campaign.

Other stories that have come out of Eisner’s interview with Bensinger include his visit to Disney headquarters for the first time in 20 years, his critique of modern theme park prices, his explanation for why he backed Indiana Jones, and his thoughts on ABC’s settlement with President Trump.

Watch the full interview below:

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