65ThetitleofBobIger’snewbook,TheRideofa Lifetime:Lessons
LearnedFrom 15 YearsasCEOoftheWaltDisneyCompany
(RandomHouse,$28),suggeststhatit willappealprimarily
tocorporateladderclimbers.ButonceIgerdispenseswith
someinspirationalevangelizing,hetreatsreaderstoa vivid
accountofhis45-yearcareer,onethatmightmoreaptlybe
titled,HowtoSucceedina BusinessFullofPrimaDonnasand
RagingEgomaniacs.
ThebroadoutlineofIger’ssagaiswell-known—howhe
toiledforalmosta decadeintheshadowofhiscombativepre-
decessorMichaelEisnerandtookcommandofthebesieged
MagicKingdomin2005,rejuvenatingit withboldacquisitions
suchasPixar,MarvelEntertainment,Lucasfilm,and,later,
muchof21stCenturyFox.Asit turnsout,there’sa lotwedidn’t
knowaboutIger’smaneuversand,indeed,themanhimself.
Determinedtodobetterthanhisfather,a failedadvertis-
ingexecutivewhogaveupa chancetobea big-bandtrum-
peter,hejoinedABCin 1974 andbecamea protégéofRoone
Arledge,themercurialforcebehindMondayNightFootball
andWideWorldofSports. IgeradmiredArledge’swillingness
toripupshowsatthelastminuteandkeepeverybodyinthe
editingroomuntildawninpursuitofperfection.Lessendear-
ingwashisproclivityforpittinghisunderlingsagainstone
another,a traitIgerattributestoinsecurity.
WhenDisneyboughtABC’sparentcompanyin1996,Iger
LI YING/REDUXwantedtopositionhimselfasEisner’sNo.2 andpossible
CRITIC BloombergPursuits September 30, 2019successor. Instead, Eisner recruited superagent Michael Ovitz,
who, Iger writes, spent his time acting like a big shot, inter-
ruptingmeetingstotakecallsfromTomCruiseandPresident
BillClinton.Ovitzleftafterlittlemorethana yearwitha
scandalous$140million severance package.
Eisner announced his resignation plans in 2004, leaving Iger
to vie with EBay Inc. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman for
the top job. He describes this as an often humiliating experi-
ence. One of the lowest points came when he had to go to New
York to be interviewed by headhunter Gerry Roche, who had
lunch brought in during the meeting for himself—but not Iger—
thencutthingsshorttocatcha planetoa wedding.
Ultimately,Igerprevailed.AsCEO,heresuscitatedDisney’s
ailinganimationdivisionwiththecompany’s$7.4billion pur-
chaseofPixar.Intheprocesshebecameunlikelybuddies
withPixar’sCEO:SteveJobs.ThenotoriouslybrusqueJobs
occasionallyrankledthediplomaticDisneyCEO,callingone
ofDisney’sbudgethotelsinOrlando“crap”andtellinghim
thatIronMan 2 “sucked.”
Jobswasn’ttheonlydifficultpersonalitywithwhomIger
hadtonegotiate.HepersuadedIkePerlmutter,thesecre-
tiveformerIsraelimilitaryofficerwhocontrolledMarvel
Entertainment,tosellhiscompanytoDisneyin 2009 for$4bil-
lion.IgerlethimstickaroundandruneverythingatMarvel
butthemoviedivision.Evenso,Perlmutter’speopletriedto
thwartDisney’seffortstomakeBlackPanther, sayingthata
blacksuperherowouldn’tcrushattheboxoffice.“IcalledIke
andtoldhimtotellhisteamtostopputtinguproadblocks,”
Igerwrites.BlackPantherwentontomakemorethan$1billion.
Thenthere’sGeorgeLucas,whohadseller’sremorseafter
Igerpersuadedhimtopartwithhiscompanyin 2012 for$4bil-
lion.IgerwritesthatLucasbecameiratewhenDisneydidn’t
religiouslyadheretohisplansforitsfirstStarWarssequel,
TheForceAwakens. Igertriedtosmooththingsover,inviting
Lucastothepremiereandpraisinghimlavishly.Yetinaninter-
viewwithCharlieRose,Lucassaidthatsellinghiscompany
toDisneyfeltliketurningoverhischildrento“whiteslavers.”
Helaterapologized,buttheexperienceclearlywoundedIger.
EverymajorplayerinHollywoodmakesanappearance
inTheRideofa Lifetime. RupertMurdochapproachedIgerin
2017 aboutselling21stCenturyFoxtoDisney.Igerwritesthat
Murdoch’sideaofanicebreakerattheirfirstchatwastoask,
“Areyourunningforpresident?”Igerconfirmsthathehad
beenspeakingwithprominentDemocratsaboutit,buthe
wasn’tgoingtotellMurdochandhavehimsplashit allover
FoxNews.TheacquisitionbecameitsowndramaasComcast
Corp.alsomadea playforthecompany,andintheensuing
biddingwar,Disneyendeduppaying$71billion.
It’s hard to blame Iger if he sounds a little weary in the
final section of the book. He’s 68. He’d planned to step down
in June, but as part of his deal with Murdoch, he’s agreed to
stick around until 2021. In November, Iger’s company is sched-
uled to launch Disney+, the closely observed streaming ser-
vice, and its success or failure will color his legacy. If anybody
needs inspiration now, it’s Bob Iger. His ride isn’t over yet. <BW>Disney boss Bob Iger chronicles
the dizzying drama behind his
biggest deals. By Devin LeonardThe Wild
Mouse