21 October 2026 | Articles, Articles 2026, Book Reviews, Book Reviews 2026, Management | By Christophe Lachnitt
Disney’s CEO Succession: Bob Chapek’s Memoir Tells A Story Of Betrayal In Reverse
In politics as in business, betrayal usually comes from a subordinate who deceives the boss. In the case of Disney’s leadership transition from Bob Iger to Bob Chapek, it was the other way around.
This was hardly the first time Disney had been rocked by infighting at the top.
Hired in 1984 by Walt Disney’s nephew Roy, Michael Eisner spent nearly a decade putting his creative talents to work for Disney, awakening the sleeping giant by persuading some of the industry’s brightest talents to join the Company. But he eventually fell victim to his own management methods – with a pervasive culture of paranoia seemingly playing a central role – and his outsized ego. His megalomania led him to believe that he was Walt Disney’s natural heir and that no one within the Company, least of all its Board of Directors, had the right to stand in the way of his ambitions. That conviction ultimately prompted Roy Disney to wage an unprecedented public campaign in American corporate history to force him out.
Less than twenty years after the ouster of its iconic CEO, Disney found itself embroiled in another governance crisis, this time triggered by another legendary chief executive.
In “Behind The Castle Walls: My Thirty Years At The Happiest Place On Earth” (2026, 272 pages), Bob Chapek recounts his professional journey alongside a few episodes from his personal life, including his wife’s successful battle with leukemia. The Walt Disney Company dominates his career story: He spent thirty years there, climbing the corporate ladder from a marketing position in a relatively minor business unit all the way to the CEO’s office, which he occupied for just thirty-three months, from February 2020 to November 2022.
His account offers a wealth of insights for anyone interested in leadership and business. Yet it is undermined by the author’s bitterness. Bob Chapek has clearly never come to terms with the transformation of Bob Iger, his mentor, into someone he portrays as a liar after handing him the reins of the Company. In this respect, the book is both childish and touching. Bob Chapek presents himself as the model Disney executive – I cannot recall a single instance in which he faults his own professional conduct – and constantly betrays a craving for recognition that seems ill-suited to an executive of his stature. Put simply, he lacks the thick skin his ambitions demand. This is also what makes the book poignant: Over time, the reader begins to empathize with his hurt feelings, which gradually harden into resentment.
That said, Bob Chapek would be an extraordinary executive if he had accomplished even half the feats he credits himself with in the book. By the same token, Bob Iger would be an appalling leader if he had engaged in even half the scheming Chapek attributes to him.
When A Transition Becomes A Betrayal
When Bob Chapek became Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger retained the position of executive chairman and oversight of the Company’s creative operations. This division of responsibilities, over which the incoming CEO had no say, created a fundamental ambiguity: Bob Chapek held the CEO title, but his predecessor retained considerable authority, influential relationships in Hollywood, and much of the symbolic legitimacy associated with the top job. That legitimacy also stemmed from Bob Iger’s long tenure at the helm of Disney, the transformative acquisitions he had engineered (including BAMTech, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, and 21st Century Fox), his charisma, and his public stature in America (he was even considered a potential presidential candidate at one point).
The weakness of Bob Chapek’s position is neatly captured by one anecdote: After his appointment, he became known in Disney’s upper echelons as “Bob C,” while Bob Iger remained simply “Bob.” Bob Chapek may have been CEO, but his predecessor had retained a monopoly on even his first name.
This linguistic pecking order reveals that succession is not merely about transferring responsibilities: It also requires transferring legitimacy. And the more closely a company’s identity has become intertwined with that of its outgoing leader, the harder it is for said successor to establish his own authority.
In “Behind The Castle Walls,” Bob Chapek describes how Bob Iger went out of his way, from the very beginning of his tenure, to humiliate him and undermine his authority in the eyes of Disney’s internal and external stakeholders, even to the point of deliberately acting against the Company’s interests. Some of the incidents he recounts are already public knowledge; others took place behind closed doors. The former lend credibility to the latter, even if Bob Chapek’s lack of introspection weakens his case in his own defense. What seems clear, however, is that Bob Iger regretted relinquishing the top job and did everything in his power to reclaim it. He ultimately got his way, returning to the helm of Disney for another three and a half years.
Bob Chapek – Image created with ChatGPT and Midjourney – (CC) Christophe Lachnitt
Getting The Top Job Doesn’t Mean You’ve Earned The Authority To Lead
Beyond its emotional dimension, Bob Chapek’s book offers valuable leadership lessons. Operational competence alone does not confer institutional authority. Appointment does not guarantee legitimacy. And a leader’s past achievements can become an obstacle to a company’s future when that leader proves unable to manage his own succession.
Bob Chapek lacked the political skills to navigate his rise to power and the guerrilla campaign waged against him by his former mentor. In fairness, however, very few executives could have succeeded in the political environment he faced, made even more challenging by the COVID-19 crisis and the strategic demands of Disney’s transformation in the streaming era.
Ultimately, being handed power never absolves a leader of the need to earn it.
Superception is a media outlet focused on perception issues across communication, management, and marketing in the age of artificial intelligence. It features a blog, a newsletter, and a podcast. It was founded and is published by Christophe Lachnitt.
