CEO

Feb. 9 (UPI) — The unions that represent flight attendants and pilots who work for American Airlines on Monday expressed frustration with the company’s CEO, and in one case issued a unanimous vote of non-confidence in him.

The unions, which represent 28,000 flight attendants and 16,000 pilots that work for the airline, said that the company’s leadership has set it on “an underperforming path” amid aviation experts noting that Delta and United, American’s primary competitors, have made better decisions in recent years, CBS News and The New York Times reported.

“From abysmal profits earned to operational failures that have front-line workers sleeping on floors, this airline must course-correct before it falls even further behind,” Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said in a press release.

“This level of failure begins at the very top, with CEO Robert Isom,” she added.

The vote of no confidence from the AFPA comes as the airline has been pilloried by analysts and employees for its failure to increase reliability and its treatment of employees.

WFAA-TV reported that American Airlines directed reporters to a statement from Isom on an investor call last month, wherein he said that multi-year efforts are poised to deliver an improved, consistent customer experience and to maximize its network and fleet, with expectations that recent changes will “bear fruit” in 2026.

For its part, the Allied Pilots Association on Friday sent a letter to American’s board of directors calling for the company to reform its practices and better plan for the future.

“Our airline is on an underperforming path and has failed to define an identity or a strategy to correct course,” the union said in the letter. “Copying competitors’ initiatives and reactive repairs to the mistakes of the past is not a strategy that closes the gap between American and our premium competitors, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.”

After two decades and two stints as Walt Disney Co. boss, Bob Iger finally is hanging up the reins.

Disney this week tapped 54-year-old parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed Iger as chief executive. The handoff is set for March 18, at the company’s annual investor meeting, with Iger staying on as a senior advisor and board member until his December retirement.

The changing of the guard atop one of America’s iconic companies marks the end of an era.

History probably will remember Iger as a visionary leader who transformed Disney by reinvigorating its creative engines through a series of blockbuster acquisitions, broadening its international profile and boldly steering into treacherous streaming terrain by launching Disney+ and ESPN+ as audiences drifted from the company’s mainstay TV channels.

Iger, 74, has long been Hollywood’s most respected and inspiring studio chief, known around town simply as “Bob.”

Disney Chairman James Gorman said in an interview that Iger’s nearly 20 years in power is framed by two epochs: “Bob 1” and “Bob 2.”

After becoming CEO in 2005, Iger presided over a period of remarkable growth. Through acquisitions of Pixar Animation, Marvel Entertainment and the “Star Wars” studio, LucasFilm, the company gained blockbuster franchises and popular characters, including Captain Marvel, Baby Yoda and Sheriff Woody from “Toy Story,” to populate movie theaters and theme parks.

“Bob steadied the company and built it out,” Gorman said. “He created an absolute powerhouse.”

Simultaneously, Iger strived to preserve ABC, ESPN and the whimsical charm that spilled from founder Walt Disney’s imagination so many decades ago. Iger has treasured such animated gems as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh, Polynesian princess Moana and more.

“The Iger era has been defined by enormous growth, an unyielding commitment to excellence in creativity and innovation, and exemplary stewardship of this iconic institution,” Gorman said in a statement on behalf of the board, adding: “We extend our deepest gratitude to Bob Iger for his extraordinary leadership and dedication to The Walt Disney Co.”

Former CEO Michael Eisner told The Times that Iger has “succeeded masterfully” at every turn.

“From ABC Sports to ABC Television Network and then at Disney, when we inherited him in the ABC/Capital Cities acquisition, Bob created success upon success,” Eisner said. “It’s why he was picked as the Disney CEO, a role that has been his greatest success … What a record!”

Iger‘s first reign ended when he stepped down as CEO in February 2020, then retired from the company 22 months later.

But that leadership handoff proved disastrous, becoming Iger’s biggest blunder — one he has since worked hard to correct.

Bob Iger passed the CEO torch to Bob Chapek in 2020.

(Business Wire)

Former parks chief Bob Chapek stepped into the big role, but he lacked stature, creative chops and support among key executives. He quickly confronted the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered Disney’s revenue machines — theme parks, movie theaters and sporting events that anchor ABC and ESPN.

Wall Street soon soured on multibillion-dollar streaming losses by Disney and traditional entertainment firms that were jumping into streaming to compete with Netflix. The company’s stock fell.

Chapek also stumbled into a political feud with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who branded Disney as “woke.” The public tussle tarnished the Burbank company’s clean image and undermined its goal of entertaining the masses, no matter their political stripes.

The board beckoned Iger back in November 2022 to quell a revolt by senior Disney executives and allay concerns among investors.

“When I came back three years ago, I had a tremendous amount that needed fixing,” Iger acknowledged during a Monday earnings call with analysts. “But anyone who runs a company also knows that it can’t just be about fixing. It has to be preparing a company for its future.”

Succession immediately became the board’s top priority with Iger then in his early 70s. But Disney’s executive bench had thinned through a series of high-level departures and the company’s expenditures had gotten out of control.

Iger restructured the company, which led to thousands of layoffs, and gave division executives financial oversight to, in Iger’s words, give them “skin in the game.”

His successor, D’Amaro, last spring recalled bringing a 250-page binder to Iger for review upon the chief’s 2022 return to the Team Disney building in Burbank. The book was stuffed with detailed updates for each component of D’Amaro’s enormous parks and experiences division.

The following day, Iger showed up at D’Amaro’s office, binder in hand.

“He pulled out one page,” D’Amaro recounted during an investor conference last year, adding that Iger said: “we have plenty of room to grow this business. We’ve got land in all of our locations around the world,” D’Amaro said. “We’ve got the stories [and] we’ve got the fans.”

That laid the seeds for Disney’s current $60-billion, 10-year investment program to expand theme parks and resorts, cruise lines and open a new venture in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. D’Amaro was put in charge of the effort, which is designed to cement Disney’s leading position in leisure entertainment. That mandate has become increasingly important to Disney amid the contraction of linear television and cable programming revenue.

Iger’s second stint as CEO wasn’t nearly as fun as the first.

He was dragged into a bitter proxy fight with two billionaire investors, who challenged his strategy, succession plans and Disney’s 2019 purchase of much of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The move was controversial, with critics lamenting the $71-billion purchase price. Disney reduced its outlay by selling regional sports networks and other assets, but the deal left the company with significant debt just before COVID-19 hit.

The Fox deal gave Disney rights to hundreds of properties, including “Avatar,” “Deadpool” and “The Simpsons.”

Iger vanquished the proxy challenge, and this week, he again defended the Fox purchase, which gave Disney control of streaming service Hulu, National Geographic channels and FX.

“The deal we did for Fox, in many ways, was ahead of its time,” Iger said on the earnings call, noting the lofty bidding war currently underway for Warner Bros. Discovery.

“We knew that we would need more volume in terms of [intellectual property], and we did that deal,” Iger said, pointing to Disney’s deployment of its franchises beyond the big screen into its money-making theme parks. “When you look at the footprint of the business today, it’s never been more broad or more diverse.”

TD Cowen media analyst Doug Creutz still thinks the Fox deal was a dud, saying in a report: “There were plenty of value-destroying media deals before DIS-FOX, so we disagree with their assertion” despite the multiples being offered for Warner.

From left; James Gorman, chairman of the Walt Disney Co. board of directors; Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro; Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment; and Bob Iger, chief executive of the Walt Disney Co.

(Walt Disney Co.)

Iger is credited with astutely managing Disney’s image and corporate culture.

He was instrumental in resolving Hollywood’s bitter year of labor strife by negotiating truces with the Writers Guild of America and performers’ union, SAG-AFTRA, in 2023.

He has also sought to distance the company from divisive politics, albeit with limited success.

Disney agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle a dispute over inaccurate statements that ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos made a month after Trump was reelected. But free speech advocates howled, accusing Disney of bending to Trump.

In September, Iger led the company out of political quicksand amid an uprising of conservatives, including the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, a Trump appointee, who were riled by comments by ABC late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel in the wake of activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.

Iger maintains Disney made the decision to return Kimmel to his late-night perch independent of the political pressure from both sides.

Enormous challenges remain for D’Amaro, the incoming CEO.

He and his team, including Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden, must ensure Disney’s movies and TV shows deliver on the company’s commitment to quality, and that its streaming services — Disney+, Hulu and ESPN — rise above the competition.

In recent years, Disney’svaunted animation studios, including Pixar, have struggled to consistently release hits, though it has found success with sequels. Disney Animation’s “Zootopia 2” is now the highest-grossing U.S. animated film of all time, with worldwide box office revenue of more than $1.7 billion, and the 2024 Pixar film “Inside Out 2” hauled in nearly $1.7 billion globally.

The company also must maintain its pricey sports contracts, including with the NFL, to drive ESPN’s success. This week, Disney and the NFL finalized their deal for the league to take a 10% stake in ESPN.

And, as broadcast TV audiences continue to gray, Disney must evaluate the importance of the ABC network, where Iger got his start more than 50 years ago working behind-the-scenes for $150 a week.

Investors also are looking for D’Amaro to lift Disney’s wobbly stock, which has fallen 9% so far this year.

“The stock price doesn’t fairly reflect what [Iger] has done, but … it will,” Gorman said. “And he should get credit for it.”

In a statement Tuesday, D’Amaro expressed gratitude to Disney’s board “for entrusting me with leading a company that means so much to me and millions around the world.”

“I also want to express my gratitude to Bob Iger for his generous mentorship, his friendship, and the profound impact of his leadership,” D’Amaro said.

Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.

Feb. 3 (UPI) — Enrique Lores will be the new chief executive officer of PayPal Holdings Inc., and David Dorman is the digital payment processor’s new independent board chairman, the company announced Tuesday.

Lores previously was the tech firm’s chairman and served on the independent board for five years, and he replaces Alex Chriss as its chief executive officer, PayPal announced.

Lores won’t immediately take the reins as PayPal’s top executive. Instead, Chief Financial and Operating Officer Jamie Miller will serve as interim chief executive until Lores is ready to take the helm.

While Lores won’t immediately become PayPal’s chief executive, Dorman immediately becomes chairman of its independent board.

“Enrique is widely recognized as a visionary leader who prioritizes customer-centric innovation with demonstrable impact,” Dorman said.

“His strong track record leading complex transformations and disciplined execution on a global basis will ensure PayPal maintains its leadership of the dynamic payments industry now and into the future,” Dorman said of Lopes.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the board and supporting Enrique as he takes on the CEO role,” he added.

“We will further strengthen the culture of innovation necessary to deliver long-term transformation and balance this with near-term delivery, executing with greater speed and precision and holding ourselves accountable for consistent delivery quarter on quarter to further assert PayPal’s industry leadership position,” Lores said.

“The payments industry is changing faster than ever, driven by new technologies, evolving regulations, an increasingly competitive landscape and the rapid acceleration of AI that is reshaping commerce daily,” he explained.

“PayPal sits at the center of this change, and I look forward to leading the team to accelerate the delivery of new innovations and to shape the future of digital payments and commerce,” Lores said.

PayPal’s board of directors evaluated Lores’ qualifications for the new position before appointing him as the new chief executive.

PayPal officials said the change is needed to enable the company to better address industry-wide changes and competition.

Lores has more than 30 years of technology and commercial experience and “is widely recognized as a visionary leader who prioritizes customer-centric innovation with demonstrable impact,” Dorman said.

“His strong track record leading complex transformations and disciplined execution on a global basis will ensure PayPal maintains its leadership of the dynamic payments industry now and into the future,” he added.

PayPal’s board said the company’s future success will be as a global services provider whose strengths are its consumer, merchant and partner relationships.

The chief executive position opened when Chriss vacated the position after 2.5 years.

Walt Disney Co. named a new chief executive this week, tapping theme parks veteran Josh D’Amaro as its new leader.

D’Amaro succeeds Bob Iger, who is expected to retire on Dec. 31 when his contract expires after nearly two decades on the job.

The issue of corporate succession has been a fraught one at Disney — and the subject of intense speculation across Hollywood in recent years.

Here’s a look at key developments in the succession drama:

Bob Chapek Named Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company

(Business Wire)

Feb. 25, 2020: Chapek named CEO

Disney announces that Bob Chapek, a 27-year Disney veteran who led the company’s massively important parks and consumer products business, would succeed Iger.

Chapek, 60, was one of several top Disney executives who were potential successors, including Disney direct-to-consumer chairman Kevin Mayer, who oversaw the successful launch of streaming service Disney+.

But the announcement contained a wrinkle: Iger wasn’t leaving the company — at least not right away. He would assume the role of executive chairman, leading the company’s creative endeavors, while guiding the leadership transition until the end of his contract on Dec. 31. 2021.

In this Sept. 11, 2015, file photo, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Bob Chapek poses with Minnie Mouse during a ceremony at the Hong Kong Disneyland, as they celebrate the Hong Kong Disneyland’s 10th anniversary.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Nov. 20, 2022: Chapek fired, Iger returns

Disney’s board fires Chapek after less than three years on the job and asks Iger to serve two additional years as chief executive, postponing his exit.

The stunning announcement came after a series of missteps and miscalculations by Chapek, Iger’s hand-picked successor, that raised questions about his leadership.

Directors were said to be increasingly impatient with the company’s shaky financial performance and organizational changes Chapek made at the Mouse House.

“The board came to the conclusion they were losing the heart and soul of the company,” one longtime Disney observer who was not authorized to comment publicly said at the time.

(Jim Cooke/Los Angeles Times; Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

July 12, 2023: Board extends Iger’s contract amid challenges

Disney’s board decides to keep Iger in the top job through December 2026, once again delaying his retirement.

The decision is a recognition of the serious challenges facing the company. Among them: struggles in animated movies, steady subscriber losses at sports giant ESPN and political and cultural battles with conservatives in Florida.

Iger moves swiftly to cut costs and eliminates thousands of jobs across the company. He also directs the company to slow down production of films and TV shows to focus on quality.

James Gorman, then chairman and chief executive of Morgan Stanley, in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.

(Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Oct. 21, 2024: Board taps Gorman to lead succession

After the fiasco with Chapek, Disney turns to someone with a track record of successful succession planning at Morgan Stanley: James Gorman.

Gorman is named the new chairman of the company’s board of directors, replacing Nike Chief Executive Mark Parker, who leaves after nine years.

Facing pressure from critics such as the activist investor Nelson Peltz, Disney also announces it will pick Iger’s successor by early 2026.

Josh D’Amaro, who previously ran Disney’s theme parks division, was named Disney CEO.

(Paul Morse)

February 3, 2026: Disney picks Josh D’Amaro as new CEO

Disney selects Josh D’Amaro as its new leader. D’Amaro, 54, beat out three other internal candidates for the job and was a Wall Street favorite.

The charismatic 28-year Disney veteran had the edge because of his deep affinity with company’s corporate culture and his success in growing the all-important theme parks business, which is in the midst of an ambitious 10 year, $60-billion parks and cruise line expansion. He was also a Wall Street favorite, which didn’t hurt.

Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden was named the company’s president and chief creative officer.

Jan. 31 (Asia Today) — Harold Rogers, interim chief executive of Coupang Korea, was questioned for more than 12 hours by police over allegations that the company destroyed evidence during an internal probe into a massive personal data leak.

Rogers arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at about 2 p.m. Thursday and left around 2:22 a.m. Friday. He declined to answer reporters’ questions, including whether he acknowledged the evidence destruction allegations, how the company determined that about 3,000 users were affected, and why he had not appeared for questioning earlier.

Before entering police headquarters, Rogers said Coupang had “fully cooperated with all government investigations and will continue to do so,” adding that the company would also cooperate with the police probe.

Police are investigating whether Coupang conducted an unauthorized “self-investigation” after the data breach and destroyed evidence in the process. The company allegedly analyzed a suspect’s laptop without prior consultation with authorities and publicly announced its own findings, including the estimated scope of the leak.

Investigators reportedly questioned Rogers about Coupang’s actions, including allegedly contacting the data leak suspect in China without police knowledge, retrieving the laptop, and conducting forensic analysis independently.

Attention has also focused on whether Rogers will leave South Korea. Police applied for a travel ban against him after his entry on Jan. 21, but prosecutors rejected the request. Rogers previously left the country earlier this month after completing a two-day schedule of National Assembly hearings.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260131010014003

Reporting from New York, NY — Media outlets are reporting that federal prosecutors have granted immunity to the executive in charge of the National Enquirer amid an investigation into hush-money payments made on behalf of President Trump.

Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, were first to report Wednesday’s development involving David Pecker, CEO of the tabloid’s publisher, American Media Inc., and a longtime friend of the president.

Court papers connected to ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s guilty plea Tuesday say Pecker offered to help Trump squash negative stories during the 2016 campaign.

The Journal said Pecker shared details with prosecutors about payments Cohen says Trump directed to buy the silence of two women alleging affairs with him.

Trump’s account has shifted. He said recently he knew about payments “later on.”