Disney Chairman Bob Iger Named to California’s Coronavirus Business Recovery Task Force

Bob Iger is one of the dozens of Californian leaders named to Governor Gavin Newsom’s business recovery task force. In total, 70 people have been named to the task force in an effort to lead California out of the economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Announced Friday, Iger joins the likes of Apple’s Tim Cook and former governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown on the workshopping group. According to Newsom’s office, the task force will meet twice a month throughout the remainder of the year.

As of Friday, California is sixth in the United States for confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. It currently has over 28,000 of the country’s 690,000 confirmed cases of the disease.

Shortly after coronavirus spread throughout the United States, Disney quickly closed all its parks including Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. The parks remain closed indefinitely though some of the company’s reservation systems are currently allowing customers to book rooms and tickets beginning June 1st.

Immediately prior to the closures, Iger stepped down from the company as CEO. That is until the pandemic forced him back into the role within the past few weeks. Reports surfaced saying the executive had “reasserted control” of the company to guide it through the upcoming months. His successor Bob Chapek — the former head of Disney’s parks division — remains CEO. At the time Iger stepped down, he assumed the role of executive chairman throughout the end of his contract next year.

On a conference call in February, Iger explained his decision to step down happened so that he could focus solely on the creative output of the company in the coming months — especially now that Disney+ is the company’s biggest product at the moment.

“The company has gotten larger and more complex in the recent 12 months,” Iger previously explained on a press call announcing the changes. “With the asset based in place, and our strategy essentially deployed, I felt that I should spend as much time as possible with the creative side as our businesses… because that becomes our biggest priority in 2021.”

Iger’s contract with Disney is currently set to expire on December 31, 2021, though it’s unclear if that will be extended briefly as a result of the pandemic and its subsequent recession.