By Ben Fritz
Walt Disney Co. has a new leading candidate to succeed Robert
Iger as chief executive.
Thomas Staggs, who has run the company's parks and resorts unit
since 2010 following a 12-year run as Disney's chief financial
officer, was named chief operating officer on Thursday, making him
Mr. Iger's second-in-command. All of the company's operating
divisions, including movies, television, consumer products and
parks, now will report to him as well as to Mr. Iger.
Mr. Iger has said he will step down at the end of his current
contract in June 2018. That means Mr. Staggs essentially has three
years to prove to Disney's board of directors that he is the best
successor.
Since becoming CEO in 2005, Mr. Iger has run the company without
a president or operating chief, and thus without an heir apparent
for the top job. Before Thursday, no Disney executive besides Mr.
Iger had oversight of multiple businesses.
Mr. Iger's decision to elevate Mr. Staggs appears to have
knocked out the latter's main rival for the top job: CFO Jay
Rasulo, who ran the parks unit prior to Mr. Staggs. Mr. Rasulo's
contract as CFO expired on Jan. 31, and he has not renewed it or
indicated publicly whether he will stay on.
Messrs. Rasulo, Iger and Staggs weren't available for comment, a
Disney spokeswoman said Thursday.
People close to Disney have long considered Mr. Staggs--more
outgoing and charismatic than Mr. Rasulo and more in the mold of
Mr. Iger in his public appearances--the most likely internal
candidate to become the next CEO.
As head of the parks unit, his primary focuses for the past five
years have been developing and launching My Magic Plus, a wristband
that acts as a high-tech ticket, planning device and wallet for
visitors to Walt Disney World, and overseeing construction of
Shanghai Disneyland, which was originally set to open later this
year but was pushed back to 2016.
Mr. Iger has said that new technology and international
expansion, particularly in China, are key to the company's future
growth.
Still, Messrs. Staggs and Rasulo had similar backgrounds, and
some within Disney viewed the latter, with his aggressive focus on
the bottom line, as a better choice.
Mr. Staggs, 54 years old, joined the company in 1990 in the
strategic planning group after starting his career in investment
banking and earning an M.B.A. at Stanford University.
Unlike Mr. Iger, who began his career in the television
business, and his predecessor, Michael Eisner, whose background was
in film, Mr. Staggs doesn't have experience in the media-production
parts of Disney's businesses, where its most valuable intellectual
property is created and--in the case of TV--where its biggest
profits are generated.
However, as Mr. Iger has transformed Disney from a single
creative entity into a collection of lucrative brands, including
Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and ESPN, an executive with Mr. Staggs'
financial acumen has become a more natural choice for the top job.
When Mr. Iger, 63, named Mr. Staggs head of the parks and resorts
business, it was widely regarded as a move to help groom him for a
higher position by giving him operational experience.
The unit oversees five world-wide theme-park resorts--Shanghai
will be the sixth--and employs 130,000 people. Mr. Staggs will
continue to run the parks and resorts business until a successor is
named.
In his new role, Mr. Staggs will be paid a base salary of $2
million annually with a target bonus of $5 million and target
equity award each year of $8 million, according to a regulatory
filing. Mr. Iger's total compensation for the company's last fiscal
year was valued at $46.5 million.
Mr. Staggs' new contract ends in June of 2018, the same time as
Mr. Iger's.
Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com
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