The Common Ground (and Chairman) Between Nike and Disney
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The Magic Kingdom is getting a little extra dose of that Just Do It spirit — and it just might need it now more than ever.
Walt Disney Co. shareholders are expected to elevate Mark Parker to chairman at the company’s annual meeting Monday — giving Nike Inc.’s executive chairman another spot at the top of America’s corporate hierarchy.
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Parker, who led Nike as chief executive officer for 14 years before taking on his current role in 2020, has been on Disney’s board since 2016. He will succeed Susan Arnold, the Procter & Gamble beauty veteran who has been chairman for just over a year and whose tenure on Disney’s board has hit the 15-year limit.
That’s two chairmen in a row from the world of fashion and beauty for Disney.
The two companies — Nike and Disney — are very different, but face many of the same issues. And Parker brings a load of consumer expertise to the top of Disney, as well as plenty of experience managing the chaos that is big-time business today.
“The main responsibility for a board is to navigate risk and to ensure that the leadership or a CEO deliver the results they’re committed to,” said Garrett Sheridan, CEO of Lotis Blue Consulting. “The board and CEOs need to navigate effectively through challenging events.”
Disney has had its share of challenging events — inside the C-suite and out.
“They haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory when it comes to CEO succession,” Sheridan said.
Bob Iger handed the CEO reins over to Bob Chapek in 2020, only to take them back again in December 2022 after a very rocky run for his successor when:
Disney failed to find its voice fast enough on Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation under Chapek — riling employees and activists and ultimately sparking a feud with the state’s firebrand Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The company logged operating losses of $1.5 billion in its streaming operations, which include Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, in the fourth quarter alone.
And Chapek ultimately fell out of sync with just about everybody, losing the faith of investors and the board. That contributed to a proxy battle with Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners, which was ultimately avoided after Iger moved back into the CEO’s seat to reorganize the company and cut costs.
The details are all different, but Parker too knows what it’s like to be at the top of a consumer juggernaut buffeted by controversy.
While he was CEO at Nike, the company’s culture, including its treatment of women, was broadly challenged and Trevor Edwards, Nike brand president and a contender to become CEO, resigned under a cloud.
Sheridan noted Nike also faced delicate marketing decisions under Parker, standing by Colin Kaepernick after the then-NFL quarterback’s protests against racism and social inequality sparked a national debate and sticking with Tiger Woods through the golf legend’s personal scandals.
The view of all of this from the top offers a singular perspective of how these mega brands move with the times.
And boards are not just tackling the current crisis, but are looking around corners trying to understand where the next crisis could come from and how to adjust.
“Being a board member and doing board work, that’s a set of skills these leaders develop over time,” Sheridan said.
That gives Parker a certain insight into the Mouse House’s problems and opportunities.
“Every company is trying to enhance and elevate their consumer experience,” Sheridan said. “And Nike is really good at omnichannel stores, online, really developing relationships with the consumer. I don’t think about Disney when I’m watching ESPN, so does Disney own me as a consumer? Do they know I have young children and know that I want to go to the park as much as I want to go to the game this weekend?
“The consumer power dynamic is shifting and it’s changing these companies, how they view the consumer and how they deliver their product and experience,” he said. “That’s the convergence that’s happening.”
That’s not the only convergence happening as business leaders find themselves on the front lines of the culture wars, the political food fight and more.
And Parker is getting another close-up view of it all.
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