They have a — what shall I call it? — "situation" at the Walt Disney Co. Disney is the mass media giant that owns everything from the Muppets to the Marvel franchise, Star Wars and the ESPN channel.
The much-liked Disney CEO, Bob Iger, had long contemplated leaving his position. Finally, in February, he announced that his 15 years at the helm had finally come to an end. A new CEO, Bob Chapek, was appointed.
Just three months later, Iger is back. Says The New York Times: "And now, Iger has effectively returned to running the company. After a few weeks of letting Chapek take charge, Iger smoothly reasserted control, BlueJeans video call by BlueJeans video call. (Disney does not use Zoom for its meetings for security reasons.)"
Iger’s official designation is "executive chairman".
He is not the first CEO to transition to the position of chair of a company. It is a common corporate move both here and abroad. But it can be full of challenges: can the former CEO let go? Can the old and new CEO agree on strategy and the delineation of roles?
The Covid-19 impact is exposing the current leadership, certainly Steenhuisen, as a lightweight
Iger has returned to Disney at a turbulent time. The pandemic has affected the company more than most. Its numerous theme parks and cruise lines are shut. Whoever is in charge at Disney now is in a fight, perhaps the fight, for the survival of the business. So who leads the business in this fight — Iger or the new man?
The Disney dilemma is very similar to what afflicts the DA right now. Federal council chair Helen Zille should just put the party out of its misery and officially take over the "leader" or CEO position again.
Her actions over the past four years make it abundantly clear that she wasn’t done with her project. Now, as the party’s response to the Covid-19 lockdown evolves, it is clear who is in charge. The pretence that Zille is not the boss at the DA is a joke.
In other circles Zille’s actions (chair and a key spokesperson on Covid-19) would be frowned upon. Nelson Mandela walked offstage in the ANC and let Thabo Mbeki do his thing. Mbeki allowed Jacob Zuma his space. Former DA leader Tony Leon left Zille and her successor, Mmusi Maimane, to their own devices. Zuma isn’t one to walk away gracefully: he arrives at ANC national executive committee meetings to lurk around his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa.
After her protégé, Maimane, disappointed her, Zille returned as federal council chair of the party to oust him. His interim replacement, John Steenhuisen, is flailing. Last week he was lobbed a question on the SABC ("Which South Africans are you speaking for, and which conversations are you having, with whom and where?").
Steenhuisen shouldn’t have been rattled. Why does he have to justify the SABC’s actions in inviting him in the first place? Anyway, he is the leader of the opposition in parliament. More than 3.6-million people voted for his party a year ago. Instead of hauling out these facts, Steenhuisen fell right into the identity politics garden path he was being led towards. Like Maimane, Steenhuisen won’t last.
The DA hasn’t had a leader who has put their stamp on the party as much as Leon and Zille did. The orchestrated introductions of Mamphela Ramphele and Maimane were a sham and did not work.
The Covid-19 impact is exposing the current leadership, and certainly Steenhuisen, as lightweight. Meanwhile, Zille is front and centre in the DA’s campaign to challenge the constitutionality of the Disaster Management Act. She owns the project. She even wondered out loud where the DA had been when the law was passed back in the early 2000s and why the party had not called for it to be reviewed.
Zille is in charge at the DA, no matter what she may say. Yet she comes at a price. She is polarising, divisive and abrupt, and lacks empathy.
Her return will be lambasted as a power grab and her accusations of "dictatorships" will be used against her. She may be in charge now, but the DA may find that in the long run the party is the loser for allowing her back in.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.