Early life

Iger was born to a Jewish family in New York City, New York, the son of Mimi and Arthur L. Iger. Iger's father was a World War II veteran who served as the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Greenvale Marketing Corporation, and was also a Professor of Advertising and Public Relations. His mother worked at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside.

Iger was raised in the Long Island town of Oceanside, New York, where he attended the Fulton Avenue School and later graduated from high school. Iger completed his undergraduate studies at Ithaca College where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Television & Radio from Ithaca's Roy H. Park School of Communications. Iger began his career as a weatherman for a local television station and joined the American Broadcasting Company in 1974. Iger was instrumental in convincing ABC to pick up David Lynch's offbeat yet influential Twin Peaks.

In 1989, Iger was named to head up ABC Entertainment. He served as President of the ABC Network Television Group from January 1993 to 1994, while being appointed as Capital Cities/ABC Senior Vice President in March 1993 and Executive Vice President in July 1993. In 1994, Iger was named President and Chief Operating Officer of ABC's corporate parent, Capital Cities/ABC. In 1996, The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC and renamed it ABC, Inc., where Iger remained President until 1999.

The Walt Disney Company

On February 25, 1999, Disney named Iger the President of Walt Disney International, the business unit that oversees Disney's international operations, as well as Chairman of the ABC Group. Disney called the change a promotion for Iger; however, the company's insistence was initially viewed with skepticism, as some thought Iger was merely being removed from day-to-day authority at ABC, since ABC had been struggling.

Iger was named President of Disney in 2000, and later succeeded Michael Eisner as the CEO in 2005, after a successful effort by Roy E. Disney to shake up the management of the company.

Disney named Iger the President and Chief Operating Officer (CEO) on January 24, 2000, making him Disney's #2 executive under Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner. Disney had been without a separate president since Eisner assumed the role following the departure of Michael Ovitz in 1997, after sixteen months at Disney.

On March 13, 2005, Disney announced that Bob Iger would succeed Michael Eisner as CEO. On March 26, Iger reassigned Peter Murphy, Disney's Chief Strategic Officer, and pledged to disband the company's Strategic Planning division. Iger also vowed to restore much of the decision-making authority that the division had assumed to the company's individual business units.

Disney reconciled with former board members Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold, who in July 2005 dropped their "Save Disney" campaign and agreed to work with Iger. In the process, Roy E. Disney was named a Director Emeritus and Consultant.

On January 24, 2006, Disney announced it would acquire Pixar for $7.4 billion in an all-stock transaction. The merger installed animator John Lasseter as Chief Creative Officer of the Disney/Pixar animation studios and Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering, the division that designs theme park attractions. This acquisition made Steve Jobs Disney's top shareholder, with seven percent of outstanding shares, and gave him a new seat on Disney's Board of Directors. In the same year, Iger also re-acquired the rights to Walt Disney's first star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, from NBCUniversal by releasing sportscaster Al Michaels from ABC Sports to NBC Sports.

In August 2009, Iger spearheaded negotiations that led Disney to acquire Marvel Entertainment and its associated assets for $4 billion. As of August 2014, Disney has recouped over $4 billion at the box office through the Marvel movies.

Roy E. Disney, who had been critical of Iger for his role as Eisner's deputy, issued this statement:

Animation has always been the heart and soul of The Walt Disney Company, and it is wonderful to see Bob Iger and the company embraces that heritage by bringing the outstanding animation talent of the Pixar team back into the fold. This clearly solidifies The Walt Disney Company's position as the dominant leader in motion picture animation and we applaud and support Bob Iger's vision.

Iger has cited international expansion, technological innovation, and a renewed focus on traditional animation as Disney's top strategic priorities. On October 7, 2011, Disney announced that Iger would become Chairman of the Board, following John Pepper's retirement from the board in March 2012.

On Tuesday November 15, 2011, Apple, Inc., now led by CEO Tim Cook after Steve Jobs's death, named Iger as a Director, and named Genentech Chairman Arthur Levinson, an Apple board member with a past membership on rival Google's board, as Jobs's replacement in the role of non-executive Chairman; both will serve on Apple's Audit Committee (Jobs had worked with Iger in the Pixar acquisition, making Jobs Disney's largest shareholder, and Iger licensed ABC shows to Apple for purchase through iTunes).

In October 2012, Bob Iger signed a deal with film producer George Lucas to purchase Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4 billion following several months of negotiations between the two men. As a result, Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars multimedia franchise and Indiana Jones. Disney has since embarked on plans to produce a series of Star Wars films and an Indiana Jones one. Following its release on December 18, 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens grossed over $2 billion at the box office. In addition, Iger has announced that the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort will open its doors on June 16, 2011.

Iger's position as Disney's Chairman and CEO will remain until June 30, 2018.

Compensation

As the Walt Disney CEO in 2009, Iger earned a total compensation of $29 million, including a base salary of $2,038,462, a cash bonus of $9,260,000, stock awards of $6,336,509, and option awards of $8,308,647. Iger earned a $13.5 million bonus in 2010, which was a 45.4% increase from 2009. He made $34.3M in 2013, with his cash bonus down 14.7% from the previous year.

As the The Walt Disney Company CEO in 2015, Iger earned a total compensation of $46.5 million, including a base salary of $2,500,000, stock awards of $8.9 million, option awards of $8.3 million, non-equity incentives of $22.8 million, change-in-pension value of $2.8 million, other compensation of $1.1 million, $391,411 for personal air travel, and $614,582 for security.

National Football League (NFL)

In November 2015, the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers named Iger to head their effort to build a new stadium hosting both teams in Carson, California. Had the bid been accepted by the NFL, Iger would have had the option to purchase a minority ownership in one of the teams. NFL rules preventing him from having an ownership stake in both; however, with the NFL approving the Rams move to Los Angeles, along the Inglewood proposal, Iger is no longer the head of the Carson project; therefore, he can no longer purchase a stake in either team.

Personal life

Iger has been married twice. His first marriage to Kathleen Susan Iger ended in divorce. They had two children: Kathleen Pamela Iger and Amanda Iger. In 2005, Kathleen Pamela married Jarrod Alan Cushing in a civil ceremony at the Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum in Rhode Island.

In 1995, Iger married Willow Bay in an interfaith Jewish and Roman Catholic service in Bridgehampton, New York. They have two children: Robert Maxwell "Max" Iger, and William Iger.

In June 2012, Steven Spielberg, Founder of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, presented Iger with the Ambassador for Humanity Award, the Institute's highest honor. Iger was recognized for his support of the Institute’s work, his longtime philanthropy, and his leadership role in corporate citizenship.

Charities

Robert A. Iger supports the following charitable cause: Arts Education.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]