Walt Disney crushed Wall Street’s expectations in the recently reported first quarter. The company is looking back at six straight quarters of positive earnings surprises, and Disney shares have started off 2015 with an 11% return while the S&P 500 SPY rose less than 2%.
Archive for Walt Disney Company
Disney’s animation building getting a Pixar face-lift all its own
The story of how Don Hall and Chris Williams, codirectors of the Oscar-nominated animated hit “Big Hero 6,” first came to work at Disney almost sounds like something out of a Disney movie.
Thomas O. Staggs Named Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company
Thomas O. Staggs has been named Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company, it was announced today by Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
A 25-year Disney veteran, Mr. Staggs is Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, overseeing the strategy, operations and creative development of the company’s iconic travel and leisure businesses. He will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer immediately, while continuing to lead Parks and Resorts until a successor is named. Disney’s senior management team, including all business segment leaders, will report jointly to Mr. Iger and Mr. Staggs, with the exception of the Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Chief Communications Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer, who will continue to report directly to Mr. Iger.
“Tom is an incredibly experienced, talented and versatile executive who has led Parks and Resorts during a time of unprecedented growth and expansion, including the construction of Shanghai Disney Resort. His proven ability to lead a business as well as his successful tenure as Disney’s former CFO make him an ideal Chief Operating Officer, expanding his portfolio into all the company’s businesses,” Mr. Iger said.
“It’s a privilege to step into this role, and I am humbled and honored by the opportunity. I look forward to working more closely with Bob and the talented senior management team across the company to continue to build Disney’s future through unparalleled creativity, innovative technology and global expansion,” Mr. Staggs said.
Since 2010, Mr. Staggs has led Parks and Resorts’ global team of more than 130,000 Cast Members, Crew Members and Imagineers, with the segment delivering record revenue, profit and attendance levels. In addition to overseeing the development of Shanghai Disney Resort, and a new Avatar-themed land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, during Tom’s tenure, Disney has launched two new cruise ships; opened Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, in Hawai‘i; added three new lands at Hong Kong Disneyland; doubled the size of Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom; and completed a multi-year expansion of the Disneyland Resort with the addition of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure Park.
Prior to that, Mr. Staggs served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Walt Disney Company. He played a critical role in the execution of the acquisitions of Capital Cities/ABC, Pixar Animation Studios and Marvel Entertainment. As CFO for twelve years, he spearheaded the realignment of Disney’s performance goals toward the combination of profit growth and strong long-term capital returns and free cash flow. He has been praised by Wall Street for his financial and communications skills, and was consistently voted the entertainment industry’s No. 1 CFO by Institutional Investor magazine.
Mr. Staggs joined Disney in 1990 as Manager of Strategic Planning and quickly advanced through a series of positions of increased responsibility, leading to his appointment as Chief Financial Officer in 1998. Before joining Disney, he worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley & Co.
Mr. Staggs earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
At Disney, Staggs’ elevation puts him as front-runner to succeed Iger as CEO
The Burbank company elevated longtime executive Thomas Staggs to the role of chief operating officer, placing him in the pole position to assume the top job when Iger steps aside. Staggs, 54, has overseen Disney’s profitable theme parks and resorts for five years.
Disney has magical 1st quarter on ‘Frozen,’ parks revenue
Disney might be lapping the hugely successful theatrical release of “Frozen,” but magic lives on in its media networks and parks and resorts.
25 years of Disney: How Darth Vader, Iron Man, Elsa and Pixar’s geniuses helped the company conquer the world (again)
We’re only a month into 2015 but already the competition for the year’s biggest movie looks like a two-horse race. Will it be Avengers: Age Of Ultron, the second assembly of Marvel’s all-star superhero team?
The Walt Disney Company Announces Second Startup Accelerator Program
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced that it is accepting applications for its second Disney Accelerator program powered by Techstars. Disney Accelerator will select a class of 10 startup companies for a three-month mentorship and investment program beginning July 6, 2015 and concluding with a Demo Day on October 6, 2015.
The program is open to technology-based startups with a vision for making an impact on the world of media and entertainment. Participants will be offered $120,000 in investment capital along with mentor support from top Disney executives, entrepreneurs, investors and other notable business leaders from the entertainment and technology communities.
In 2014, Disney launched its first Disney Accelerator with companies focused on a range of products including connected toys, mobile video, STEM applications, social media, advertising technology and more. Disney continues to work with many of the alumni from the inaugural class, which included Choremonster, Codarica, Jogg, Naritiv, Sidelines, Smart Toy, SnowShoe, Sphero, Twigtale and TYFFON.
The 2014 Disney Accelerator class reached a number of significant milestones during the program. SnowShoe secured $2.2 million in seed financing; ChoreMonster and Codarica both launched mobile apps; Sphero introduced its new Ollie product and Smart Toy was acquired by Cartwheel Kids, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of children’s products.
“The Disney Accelerator was born of Disney’s long term commitment to innovation and its position at the intersection of technology and entertainment,” said Kevin Mayer, Disney’s Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Business Development. “The 2014 Disney Accelerator demonstrated that pairing Disney’s creative and business talent with entrepreneurs can produce an energizing and valuable exchange of ideas and promote tremendous innovation. We look forward to working with a new group of start-ups in the months to come.”
For more information, please go to www.DisneyAccelerator.com.
Disney CEO Readies Magic Carpet for Exit
Among the stable of American cultural touchstones, they stand emblematic as a cross-generational binder of a people and a product. More a symbol of America in its minted-by-Wall-Street and cemented-on-Main-Street role as a global ambassador than Lady Liberty herself, the Walt Disney Company has risen from a cartoon maker of its eponymous animator to a warehouse of media brands unrivaled in its sheer breadth.
7 Surprising Facts About The Walt Disney Company
Founded in 1923, The Walt Disney Company is by far one of the largest and most popular diversified entertainment companies in the world. From its iconic animated feature films to its multiple world-renown theme parks, Disney has certainly made a name for itself, growing to an over $150 billion company.
Disney May Signal in Coming Weeks Who Will Succeed CEO Bob Iger
The longest-running saga at the Disney isn’t related to its movie studio or its most profitable unit, the sports juggernaut ESPN. Instead, employees and shareholders of the world’s largest entertainment company are riveted by a single question: who will be its next chief executive.
