Bob Iger Has Some Advice For His Successors

Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger has some thoughts about Walt’s legacy, and about what matters for the people entrusted with carrying on that legacy.

Iger is the guest on the latest episode of the podcast The Rest Is Historyhosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland (no, not that Tom Holland), and his looming departure from the company (Disney’s board says it is targeting a 2026 announcement for the next CEO) seemed to be top of mind for the veteran executive.

Iger was reflective about his tenure, and seemed conscious of his legacy, as well as the importance of building upon what Walt Disney himself created. Iger also revealed that the podcast is one of his favorites, having been introduced to it by Disney communications chief Kristina Schake.

“You have more power than a lot of elected Prime Ministers, not necessarily over the day to day lives of people, but over people’s heads, people’s imaginations. Do you ever think about that?” he is asked at one point.

“I certainly don’t consider myself an emperor,” Iger joked in response. “I think about the power of a great story, of course, but I don’t think about us being powerful. I think about us having the luxury — that includes both the luxury of being involved with great artists and the luxury of having the resources to tell wonderful stories to the world — and hopefully through our storytelling, to have a positive influence on the world. Certainly in today’s world, just the ability to make really billions of people happy is an incredible luxury and something that I’m very mindful of, but I don’t think about it in terms of having power, except maybe the power to do good.”

But Iger was also reflective about who will follow him. And while he didn’t give any clues about the closely-watched succession bake-off, he did have some advice.

“I think because of the company’s place in the world, I think the person running the company has a special responsibility, of sorts, to maintain Disney’s position in the world as a beloved company, as an admired company, as a company that entertains, really, the world, everyone of all ages and from all different walks of life,” Iger said. “As I think about the future, I would hope that my successors would be respectful of our past and well aware of the values ​​that really created the value of the company in the first place and carry them forward, but not let anything that’s been done in the past get in the way of bringing the company into the future.

“That’s really constant innovation, a constant exploration, a constant essentially desire to reinvent and or to invent even more than anything else. That’s what I’d want,” he continued. “But I think we do occupy a place in the world as great storytellers, perhaps maybe the greatest in many respects. And I would hope that that position would continue for years and years.”

Iger told the podcast that he doesn’t worry about the price of a project when it is first conceived, preferring instead to focus on what is possible. They can worry about the price later on in the process.

And he acknowledged the challenges of innovating in a world where technology has so radically transformed every facet of modern life.

“It’s harder today to tell the story of Tomorrowland,” Iger says, noting tech’s advance: “We have AI, which maybe that’s even endless in terms of what the future looks like, boundless, I think it just gets harder.”

Iger gave Holland and Sandbrook a tour of the Disney Studios lot in Burbank, including Walt’s office, and spent some time reflecting on what the company’s founder did that stands the test of time.

“I admire so much about Walt, I’d say one of the things I admire the most is his guts. I won’t use the term that you use, because I’m a Disney guy, I’m more G rated than perhaps you guys are, but he had unbelievable guts,” Iger said. “Actually, it was more than guts. It was courage. He had a vision. He was almost always convinced that his vision was right and he had the confidence to attempt to really execute it.”

And Iger also reflected on how people will remember his own time running Walt’s company, noting the deals that brought Pixar and Star Wars into the fold, and continuing the legacy of Walt Disney.

“I think, more than anything else, I would want to be known as someone who was given the keys to this kingdom, so to speak,” Iger said. “And quite a kingdom it is, and that I brought it to a place that even Walt would be proud of. And what that means is more great storytelling to a larger audience, more innovation, more risk-taking, more creation of happiness. It’s really that simple.

“At one point I thought, ‘well, okay, you’re now running Disney. What’s the most you want out of it?’ Well, ‘don’t screw it up,’ but it’s much more than that. I really have been mindful of the duty that I feel has been handed to me to make it even better than it’s ever been.”

They also released a companion video, with Iger showing the hosts the secrets of Disneyland.

Watch: