February 10, 1951 – Current Walt Disney Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger is Born
“Animation has always been the heart and soul of the Walt Disney Company and it is wonderful to see Bob Iger and the company embrace that heritage by bringing the outstanding animation talent of the Pixar team back into the fold…we applaud and support Bob Iger’s vision.” – Roy E. Disney
On February 10, 1951, Robert A. Iger was born in Long Island, New York. He graduated from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Science degree, and soon after became a weatherman for a local station. In 1974, Iger began working for the American Broadcasting Company and rose through the ranks to become President of the ABC Network Television group in 1993. In 1996, he was named Chairman of the ABC Group, officially joining the Disney senior management team; in 1999, he was also named the President of Walt Disney International. As President, Iger was instrumental in the expansion of Disney’s presence in the rest of the world. This complimented his work as the Chairman of the ABC Group, which had him overseeing all broadcast projects, including a merger between Capital Cities/ABC and the Walt Disney Company.
In 2000, Iger was named Disney’s President and Chief Operating Officer under Michael Eisner, filling a role that had been vacant since the departure of Michael Ovitz in 1997. On March 13, 2005, Disney announced that Iger would be assuming the role of Chief Executive Officer, which came into effect on October 1, 2005. Since then, Iger has been instrumental in several key acquisitions for the Walt Disney Company, beginning with the 2006 Pixar acquisition for $7.4 billion. Iger has also been lauded for the reacquisition of Disney’s first major star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, from NBC Universal by releasing Al Michaels from his ABC contract to join NBC Sports. Iger has also helped Disney acquire Marvel Comics in 2009, and more recently Lucasfilm in 2012. In 2011, it was announced that Iger would be named the Chairman of Disney following the March 2012 retirement of Chairman John Pepper.
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