Tom Staggs Leaving The Walt Disney Company
Tom Staggs, the man who many thought was the heir apparent to Disney CEO Bob Iger, has announced that he's leaving The Walt Disney Company after 26 years. The announcement was a shock to many in entertainment and business, and also sent the company's stock tumbling Monday afternoon.
Tom Staggs leaves The Walt Disney Company
It was just last year that Staggs was named the chief operating officer, the No. 2 job at Disney. Industry insiders assumed this was a way to prepare him for the role of CEO. But after the company's board failed to assure him that he would in fact succeed Iger in two years, Staggs announced his departure.
Staggs will step down as COO on May 6 but will remain with the company until September, the end of the fiscal year. His departure has many people questioning who Disney will choose to replace Iger when he retires in 2018.
After coming to The Walt Disney Company during Michael Eisner's reign as CEO, Staggs worked his way up through the company from the strategic planning department to head of the Parks and Resorts division, to COO.
Disney has said it plans to "broaden its scope of succession planning" and it seems likely that the company will look outside the company for a successor.
Who do you think Disney will choose as Iger's successor now that Tom Staggs has exited stage right? Let us know in the comments.
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L wrote on Thu, 04/07/2016 - 18:51:
One things for sure......whom ever takes over better look at the big picture. This "Disney Magic". Is disappearing. Cast members at the resorts walk past you and don't utter a word. The monorails smell like a barnyard. The maintenance is slipping as there are many areas in need of touch up or repair. It's a shame people spend 6,000.00 to stay on property and do park hoping and are getting ripped off. We were there last week for 6 days. On 2 of those days no one cleaned our room. We didn't get fresh towels, garbages were overflowing. Desk clerks are short tempered. The cashiers at Disney Springs are rude. Some cast members can't understand English. I'm not the only one that is noticing this, many repeat guests are always talking about it. So please, make the Disney Experience great again.
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