Walt Disney Co. veteran Bob Chapek has been named chairman of the company’s Parks and Resorts division.
Chapek has worked at Disney 22 years. He has most recently been president of Disney Consumer Products. He assumes his new role effective immediately.
“Under Bob’s leadership, Consumer Products has seen great success, focusing on brands and a franchise-driven strategy while launching new products and retail experiences that combine technological innovation and creativity,” Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said in a press release. “He is an experienced and versatile executive well-suited to lead Parks and Resorts into the future.”
Chapek succeeds Tom Staggs, who was named Disney’s Chief Operating Officer earlier this month. Chapek will report to both Iger and Staggs.
“Bob is stepping into this role at an incredibly dynamic and exciting time for our Parks and Resorts business,” Staggs said in a press release. “The ongoing construction of Shanghai Disney Resort as well as the new Avatar-themed land at Walt Disney World continues an era of unprecedented growth and historic expansion.”
A successor to Chapek at Disney Consumer Products will be named at a later date.
Prior to leading the consumer products division, Chapek was President of Distribution for The Walt Disney Studios from 2009 to 2011. He oversaw the Studios’ overall content distribution strategy across multiple platforms including theatrical exhibition, home entertainment, pay TV, digital entertainment and new media. He also served as President of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, where he spearheaded the successful “vault strategy” for the company’s films and transformed the primary format of home entertainment from DVD to Blu-ray.
Before joining Disney in 1993, Chapek worked in brand management at H.J. Heinz Company and in advertising at J. Walter Thompson.
Chapek earned a B.S. in Microbiology at Indiana University Bloomington and an MBA from Michigan State University.
