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Bringing magic to the Magic Kingdom after Bob Iger

Adriene Hill May 10, 2016
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A company's success may make it difficult to find a successor. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Bringing magic to the Magic Kingdom after Bob Iger

Adriene Hill May 10, 2016
A company's success may make it difficult to find a successor. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
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Disney is on a roll.

It has a list of hit movies: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Zootopia,” “The Jungle Book,” and now “Captain America: Civil War.”  

And the company’s theme parks are packed. 

But Disney’s success might actually make it harder to find a successor to CEO Bob Iger.

“They’re big shoes to fill,” said Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research, “expectations are going to be high for whomever replaces him.”

It’s not just Iger’s legacy that a new CEO would have to contend with, it’s the sheer size and scope of the $170 billion company.

“Finding someone who will be able to grasp the responsibilities of this chair will be quite a challenge,” said Josh Crist, managing director of executive recruiting firm Crist Kolder Associates. “The onus is going to be on the board to check as many boxes as they can.”

But, he expects any successor candidate is unlikely to be able to fill them all.

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