Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s Annual Pay Tops $32M in Fiscal 2021, Bob Iger Makes Nearly $46M in Final Year

The Walt Disney Co. has disclosed the executive compensation for CEO Bob Chapek and former executive chairman Bob Iger, who ended his tenure at the company at the end of last year.

Chapek’s compensation package for the year totaled $32.46 million, compared with $14.1 million in the previous year, which reflected the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and was the first in which Chapek led the company after his elevation in February 2020.

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Iger’s compensation in his last year with the company totaled $45.9 million, compared with $21 million in the previous fiscal year, $47.5 million the year before that and $65.6 million in fiscal 2018, which was boosted by a stock package that he was awarded as an incentive to remain with the company past his originally planned retirement date.

Disney disclosed top executives’ compensation in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The compensation packages rose sharply because Chapek and Iger did not take bonuses in fiscal 2020 due to the pandemic.

The compensation disclosure only covers the company’s latest fiscal year, which ended Oct. 2. In other words, it doesn’t include Iger’s end-of-contract stock grant, which was awarded to him Dec. 31 and was in the nine figures.

Both Chapek and Iger had taken pay cuts earlier in the pandemic. Chapek has been moving to reshape the Magic Kingdom amid the industry’s shift to streaming.

That pandemic-driven business dynamic was cited by the board’s compensation committee in the filing. Chapek “delivered strong performance given the unprecedented challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and meaningful shareholder value, driven by exceptional execution of the Company’s key strategic initiatives,” the board wrote, while Iger “successfully directed the Company’s creative endeavors, which are the cornerstone of the Company’s strategy and fuel the continued growth and expansion of Disney+ and the Company’s other DTC platforms. This effort took on greater complexity with production delays impacting content creation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenge Mr. Iger deftly managed.”

Disney’s board of directors recently named Susan Arnold, a 14-year veteran of the board, as its new chair, succeeding Iger. Both Arnold and Chapek acknowledged Iger in their notes to shareholders.

“The impact Bob had during his time at the Company is difficult to overstate,” Arnold wrote. “During his tenure as CEO, Bob initiated the Company’s DTC efforts; expanded our geographic presence including opening our first theme park and resort in Mainland China; and furthered Disney’s rich history of storytelling through landmark acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. Bob carried the same level of dedication into his role as Executive Chairman, where he oversaw Disney’s creative endeavors, providing audiences with engaging stories and compelling characters.”

Chapek, meanwhile, wrote that “Bob has left an indelible mark on the Company, and his contributions will last for generations to come.”

The filing also disclosed that the company’s annual meeting will be held virtually March 9, and that the company will be filing a corporate social responsibility report later this year, in which it will disclose its environmental goals.

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