Bob Iger ’73, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., will be stepping down from his post effective immediately, the Walt Disney Co. Board of Directors announced Feb. 25. 

Iger will be replaced by Bob Chapek, who formerly served as the company’s chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, according to the company’s announcement. 

Iger will take over the role of executive chairman to ease the transition until the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021. Iger has previously said he would be stepping down in 2021. He held the position for 15 years, according to The Walt Disney Co. website. 

“With the successful launch of Disney’s direct-to-consumer businesses and the integration of Twenty-First Century Fox well underway, I believe this is the optimal time to transition to a new CEO,” Iger said in the company’s announcement. “I have the utmost confidence in Bob and look forward to working closely with him over the next 22 months as he assumes this new role and delves deeper into Disney’s multifaceted global businesses and operations, while I continue to focus on the company’s creative endeavors.”

Iger met with the Ithaca College Board of Trustees, as well as members of the senior leadership team, including Ithaca College President Shirley M. Collado, at its annual February meeting in Los Angeles to discuss “approaches to leadership” and “the landscape of higher education.” 

Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, recently endowed a new scholarship in the Roy H. Park School of Communications to support underrepresented students.