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Is a Bob Iger Successor Hiding in Plain Sight?

Ynon Kreiz, the veteran executive who restructured Mattel and bet its future on the Barbie movie (and the tenuous I.P. business), has the experience and momentum to be a potential replacement for Bob Iger, despite a checkered past with Disney. At the very least, Kreiz is the Hollywood Hero of the Year.

Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO, Mattel Inc., speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference on October 19, 2021 in Beverly Hills, California.
Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
December 29, 2023

For a decade now, Bob Iger and the Disney board have constantly complained that there’s nobody—nobody!—with the right background and skill set to take over as C.E.O. of the company. Disney is so unique, they’ve told us, and Iger’s mix of business and creative acumen so special, that he’s basically been forced to stay in Walt’s chair since 2005, minus that brief and disastrous Bob Chapek experiment.