Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek said he repeatedly alerted the company's board about friction with former Executive Chairman Bob Iger during his tenure.
Chapek made the remarks during an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" while promoting his new memoir, "Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth."
He said he raised concerns regarding Iger on a weekly basis.
Pandemic Turmoil and a Shifting Power Balance
Chapek stepped into the chief executive role in early 2020, immediately encountering corporate disruptions as the Covid pandemic forced closures across amusement parks and movie theaters worldwide.
While Chapek directed operational logistics through the global health crisis, Iger stayed on to oversee content initiatives like Disney+.
Conflict escalated as Iger gradually reasserted control over business affairs, prompting Chapek to address the issue directly with executive leadership.
"When I started hearing about lunches that he had and dinners that he had where he was absolutely trashing me, and I'd hear it two, three times in the same week, the same bullet points, the same talking points, I was like, 'I've got a problem,'" Chapek said.
Board members dismissed his warnings at the time, framing the executive tension as temporary friction that would resolve itself as Iger's planned exit approached.
"He'll be gone in two years. It's OK.
That's Bob being Bob," board members said, according to Chapek.
Chapek was ultimately ousted by the board in late 2022 after serving nearly three years in the top position, leading to Iger's temporary return as CEO through March 2026.
"It would have been great if, like other CEOs, he acted as a steward of my new role," Chapek said.
Chapek criticized the lack of institutional support during his executive transition period.
"It would have been one thing if he was neutral, but to be actually working against me, actively, I thought was just unbelievable," Chapek said.
