Iger will stay on at Disney through the end of this contract on December 31, 2021, taking on the role as executive chairman to direct the company’s creative endeavors.
Before his big promotion on Tuesday, Chapek served as chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Under his leadership, he oversaw the Disney theme parks’ largest expansion in its sixty-year history including the opening of Shanghai Disneyland and nearly doubled the Disney Cruise Line fleet.
While Iger oversaw the strategic acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, Chapek worked to integrate the intellectual property into the theme parks. Last year, Disney opened Galaxy’s Edge, a new “Star Wars” land in both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California.
In 2009, Chapek was promoted to president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios, where he was tasked with expanding Disney’s digital distribution and converting Disney films into Blu-Ray.
Chapek earned an MBA from Michigan State University in 1984.
He worked in advertising at ad agency J. Walter Thompson and H.J. Heinz Company before joining Disney in 1993, according to his company biography.