Disney CEO Bob Iger On “The Why With Dwyane Wade” Podcast

Bob Iger reveals that he had no ambition to become CEO of Disney plus he speaks on his perspective of the 2006 NBA Finals game, and more on “The Why With Dwyane Wade” podcast.

We share highlights from this week’s episode of the iHeartPodcasts series “The Why with Dwyane Wade”, a co-production of iHeartPodcasts and Wade’s 59th & Prairie Entertainment, with special guest, the CEO of Disney Bob Iger, who sheds light on his unexpected return to the company, revealing he felt compelled to come back to Disney saying the decision was “an obvious one”.

Iger attributes his success as CEO to hard work and expresses immense pride in Disney’s impact on social representation through the success of movies “Black Panther” and “Coco”, underscoring his commitment to tell stories that resonate and empower diverse voices.

Later in the episode, Iger shares his experience at the 2006 NBA Finals game when his son was heckled for wearing a Miami Heat Dwyane Wade jersey while sitting courtside in Dallas.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• 5:30 – BOB IGER SAYS THE DECISION TO COME BACK TO DISNEY WAS “AN OBVIOUS ONE”

BOB: “The person that was chosen as my successor didn’t work out. The board of directors made a decision that he needed to go, and they asked me whether I would come back and given my history with the company, given the love that I have of the company, given the fact that I knew it was a time of great need, I felt I had no choice but to say yes. Even though I must say in terms of managing my time and my life, it wasn’t my first choice, but it was an obvious one.”

DWYANE: “It was an obvious one. Can you explain that love a little bit? I mean, I think some people on the outside will look at it as a position that you’ve held, but to come back after retirement, after everything that was built in your tenure here, how deep is that love? What does that love mean?”

BOB: “Well, it is really deep. I think it starts with who we are as a company. We primarily create joy, happiness, and magic for people all over the world… And in a world that I think is complicated and challenging, probably nothing is more important than what we do today is creating happiness. And so when you do that for a living, it’s addictive in a way. It’s intoxicating. There’s something very joyful about being in that business of making people happy…It makes you feel alive. There’s a powerful sense of purpose. I don’t think people really on the outside necessarily understand that.”

• 14:34 – BOB IGER SHARES HE NEVER HAD THE AMBITION TO BE CEO OF DISNEY

BOB: “So I guess as a 12-year-old kid, you might’ve had ambition to play in the NBA and that may have driven you and maybe that’s a bad example because it worked out pretty well for you. I never had the ambition to be the CEO of the Walt Disney company or of a company. I just went to work every day, worked really hard when I gained the confidence in what I was doing and I gained the confidence that the people I was working for I something, a gear clicked in or something for me to really go for the next role. So I think at the time, 2004, 2005 when I was being considered, I felt I was really ready because of the job that I had just done and the jobs that I had over all those years.”

• 42:51 – BOB IGER SHARES HIS SON WAS HECKLED AT THE NBA FINALS IN DALLAS, WEARING A HEAT JERSEY

BOB: “I was at [one of your championship games], in Dallas.”

DWYANE: “Oh the one we won.”

BOB: “Was that your first one? Yeah I was there because ABC and ESPN has the NBA and I’d go to a lot of finals over the years, and my son at the time was eight and a big basketball fan…he always roots for teams that are winning. Although he’s been a Knicks and a Clippers fan most of his life. But he decided to go to the game wearing a Dwyane Wade jersey. So we fly from LA to Dallas, he’s wearing number 3, that Miami jersey, and we find out that we’re sitting courtside. So we get there and he is in Dallas. He’s like one of the few Miami fans at courtside. He’s getting harassed by the Dallas fans, he’s eight years old. Even the Dallas Mavericks mascot came over. We didn’t know we were going to sit courtside. I didn’t want him to wear the uniforms, ‘son, we’re going to Dallas. You got to be respectful.’”

• 1:03:31 – BOB IGER SHARES HE’S MOST PROUD OF MAKING THE MOVIE, “BLACK PANTHER”, DURING HIS TENURE AS CEO

BOB: “Going back though, I love it when Disney can tell a great entertaining story and have a really positive impact on the world. One of the things I’m most proud of in my tenure as CEO was making a movie, making Black Panther. We made a Marvel action hero movie with virtually an all black cast that did over a billion dollars in box office that did well in almost every country. And the statement that made was phenomenal in terms of acceptance and anybody could be a superhero.”