Originally Posted By dagobert >>>One things for sure, if Staggs does become the new CEO in a few years, I can guarantee we won't be seeing him pop up in any of my wildest dreams. Be it in a leading role or as a supporting player.<< LOL I'm happy with him becoming COO and maybe the heir to Iger. He has been with the company for a long time and so he knows it quiet well. In addition he has run the WDP&R divison and I think he likes the parks. I think I read somewhere that he likes going there with his kids. I also think he has a sense of humour: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEbIltfqdZE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...IltfqdZE</a>
Originally Posted By leemac <<Although I'm not sure what Tom will have in store for the company, it seems like he at least gets it; Jay never seemed like he had any particular interest in Disney over any other company (I get a similar vibe from Iger, though to a lesser degree)>> My team talk about this a lot - that notion that the fan base expect all senior management to be die-in-the-wool fans themselves. There isn't necessary a direct correlation between exceptional Disney execs and their love for the brand. You need a balanced management team and having folks that are too close emotionally to the brand means that their judgment could be clouded to the right course of action. I've seen that plenty. Jay is close to his 30th anniversary at TWDC now. I always describe him as a horse's ass to people. He has an incredibly unpolished, abrupt and obnoxious persona at work. He revels in creating difficult situations and being the alpha male. He is very un-Disney in that regard. I've seen too many occasions where he has castigated CMs in front of their peers and subordinates. His treatment of Tom Fitzgerald at WDI who was replaced without even being told demonstrates that the man has a wonky corporate persona. I've seen a different side in different surroundings which makes me think it is simply a developed character that he feels helps him achieve what he wants. It doesn't gel with me. Tom is the polar opposite. All the classic hallmarks of a Disney CM - collaborative, nurturing, engaging, teaching. So on the face of it you would have thought that Tom would have been the right choice for COO/Prez (it is ultimately semantics about what the role is actually called). Nope - Jay has the stronger track record. Jay has been an exceptional CFO - he led the EuroDisney restructuring and that was probably one of the most complex transactions ever conducted by Disney - he didn't get the credit he deserved for that deal. He has also been adept at the M&A side too which was always Tom's strength. He led the company through Pixar and Marvel but Jay did Lucasfilm well. Jay was a sound operator. A terrible leader of CMs but boy did WDP&R operate well under him. He made decisions, come hell or high water, irrespective of the consequences. Throughout his career he has made decisions early which may suggest a resume littered with failures like Club Disney and DisneyQuest but he ultimately read the signs and pulled out when necessary. Tom is a terrible operator. Three massive failures on his watch at the moment - collectively c.$2bn over budget. Next Gen continues to suck cash away from the business and isn't yielding the incremental revenue expected under the aggressive business plan. Hence Iger and Rasulo continue to shy away from public comments about its performance (beyond "we are seeing additional revenue" - no quantification at all). Avatar has sucked development dollars away from other projects as he allowed the team to pontificate (Joe Rohde can spend money like water without control) and we still don't have a proper ETA. Shanghai is woefully behind schedule, lost its general manager and is almost rudderless as it motors through construction. Philippe Gas is not the right man at the helm either. The COO role is an operating one - the day-to-day management of the business. Tom hasn't proved himself in the 5 years at WDP&R that he is capable of managing multiple complex projects concurrently. WDP&R has performed admirably over the past 5 years but the bedrock for that performance was laid by Jay. There hasn't been any significant change in the SOP of the business unit. I genuinely wish TOS well as he is a great guy. However I'm not convinced he is either COO or CEO material. We lost the only true leader recently - Anne Sweeney. There isn't anyone else that I've encountered that is comparable.
Originally Posted By dagobert So after reading your comment, it seems the wrong guy got the job. Didn't people say the same about Iger when he became CEO? At least for Wall Street he turned out to be a good one.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>Jay was a sound operator. A terrible leader of CMs but boy did WDP&R operate well under him.<< Did it? I don't follow the business side especially closely but it seems like P&R has really flourished under Tom, while it stayed in a post-9/11 funk with Jay. There were a few successes along the way (notably DL's 50th), but nothing like we've seen with the huge attendance in recent years. With all those crowds and the parks (especially WDW) still operating on limited hours, it seems like the operations have been leaner than ever, which seems like a feather for Tom's cap >>Next Gen continues to suck cash away from the business and isn't yielding the incremental revenue expected under the aggressive business plan.<< Wasn't NextGen instigated under Rasulo? I suppose Tom could have stopped it (like the Fantasy Forest changes) but I was under the impression that it has been in the works for many years, and that many of the initial changes associated with it were infrastructure changes/upgrades that were needed regardless of MM+. It just provided a nifty way to bundle it all together. And given the way it was described publically early on, I'm not surprised that it hasn't amounted to much additional profit. It seems like most things were about added convenience (which isn't a bad thing by any means) rather than revenue generators. Other than the supposed ease of a wristband for impulse purchases, they never mentioned one thing that would realistically create additional cash flow
Originally Posted By leemac <<Wasn't NextGen instigated under Rasulo?>> You've missed the point. It doesn't matter who it was approved by but who rolled it out. That has happened entirely on TOS's watch. He has never had a grasp on the budget or the timing.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Did it? I don't follow the business side especially closely but it seems like P&R has really flourished under Tom, while it stayed in a post-9/11 funk with Jay. There were a few successes along the way (notably DL's 50th), but nothing like we've seen with the huge attendance in recent years. With all those crowds and the parks (especially WDW) still operating on limited hours, it seems like the operations have been leaner than ever, which seems like a feather for Tom's cap>> Jay had to deal with a multitude of problems as the economy headed south after sub-prime mortgage began to melt in '08. He managed to reduce the cost base much like Pressler had to after 9/11. That entire US operating structure for WDP&R Jay put in place. His team is still effectively running the show. Al Weiss has obviously retired but Meg and Erin are both Jay appointees. Bill Ernest and Karl Holz are also part of that clique. Tom hasn't done anything to change the structure or even bring in other people. He has been a steady hand on the tiller of the good ship Rasulo.
Originally Posted By leemac <<It seems like most things were about added convenience (which isn't a bad thing by any means) rather than revenue generators. Other than the supposed ease of a wristband for impulse purchases, they never mentioned one thing that would realistically create additional cash flow>> Absolutely no additional capex is approved without a RoI - none. This wasn't necessary maintenance - doorlocks didn't need replacing. The board were convinced to cut a ten figure check to drive new revenue opportunities on a project that has an incredibly aggressive payback. Nick Franklin told them that it would pay for itself within 4 years. That isn't just revenue - that is all new margin.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt >>or that I have to hate everything else that it is doing.<< "Sounds like you're inferring that I hate everything they are doing." Well you did yell that you mostly didn't like what the company was doing, so...
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>You've missed the point. It doesn't matter who it was approved by but who rolled it out.<< But other than stopping it completely, I'm not sure what he could have done differently. It's not like they had a poorly done DCA1.0-type park, where their shortcomings were obvious. From what I can tell, MM+ is operating like promised. It's just that the promise never really made any sense once you started looking at what they were proposing >>Nick Franklin told them that it would pay for itself within 4 years. That isn't just revenue - that is all new margin.<< How? Did they actually think that wristbands and FP+ would drive people to the resort? Everything that was proposed to increase spending was based on impulse buys, either from the "fun and ease" of the wristband or from data mining so good that they knew what merchandise you wanted before you did. Given that they've hardly offered any unique merchandise in years, I'm not sure why they thought that people were having trouble finding it on the shelves; if I want a 2015 Mickey t-shirt, I'll have no trouble finding it on my own
Originally Posted By leemac <<But other than stopping it completely, I'm not sure what he could have done differently. It's not like they had a poorly done DCA1.0-type park, where their shortcomings were obvious. From what I can tell, MM+ is operating like promised. It's just that the promise never really made any sense once you started looking at what they were proposing>> What could have been done is that the project could have been more effectively managed. It was significantly delayed and even more overbudget. None tried to do anything to bring the project under control. It just became the problem in the swamp. <<Everything that was proposed to increase spending was based on impulse buys, either from the "fun and ease" of the wristband or from data mining so good that they knew what merchandise you wanted before you did. >> It is all about incremental revenue - impulse purchasing is just one aspect. MM+ is meant to drive other sales by targeting guests with offers that are specifically for them and even further down the track the ability to upsell everything - including FP+ packages.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "One things for sure, if Staggs does become the new CEO in a few years, I can guarantee we won't be seeing him pop up in any of my wildest dreams. Be it in a leading role or as a supporting player." Your dreams have supporting players? Kinky.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance There are also extras and understudies in case someone gets injured.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Dare I ask how people get injured? Does it tend to happen during rehearsal or the actual performance?
Originally Posted By oc_dean Okay ... now I get it, with CC. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/675x380/2011/10/iger_a.jpg">http://www.hollywoodreporter.c...er_a.jpg</a> Though we could make the argument ... Looks don't always equate - the right man for the job: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2U3xe_XU-Hs/TgNWXzP9atI/AAAAAAAAAFs/ujXRnIDmCq0/s1600/Paul+Pressler+and+Roy.jpg">http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2U3x...+Roy.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Uuuuuhhhhhmmmm....what's that gold thing in front of Iger? Please say it's a bottle of champagne! With the way this thread has been headed, you can't ever quite tell...
Originally Posted By Yookeroo I'm sure in Constance's dreams, Iger can find interesting things to do with a champagne bottle. She ain't vanilla, or at least her dreams aren't. ;-)
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>Uuuuuhhhhhmmmm....what's that gold thing in front of Iger? Please say it's a bottle of champagne!<< OH ... go ahead Ferret ... Say what's really on your mind! The truth is, Iger is a 'friend of Dorothy's' ... and he's hold a gold dil..... Go ahead ... say the rest. ;D
Originally Posted By oc_dean Even I'm getting tripped up with typos.... he's holding a gold dil..... A present from his beau standing next to him - Tom ;-)
