Awards

Honorary Degree - 2022

L.H.D.

Doctor of Humane Letters

Undergraduate commencement ceremony

Bloomington

College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award - 2016

About Bob Chapek

Bob Chapek has worked with The Walt Disney Company in multiple capacities. The Walt Disney Company is one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies and home to some of the most respected and beloved brands around the globe, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, ESPN, and National Geographic. Chapek was CEO from February 2020 to November 2022, and led the company through the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recovery.

Chapek’s nearly three decades at Disney are marked by growth and transformation. A visionary leader, he championed using creativity and cutting-edge technology to drive expansion and improve the guest and consumer experience, developed and successfully implemented groundbreaking business models, and identified new revenue streams to achieve business objectives and sustain long-term growth.

Setting the stage for Disney’s second century, Chapek established three fundamental pillars of his strategic vision: storytelling excellence, innovation, and audience focus. Under his leadership and executing against these priorities, the company strategically realigned its media and entertainment divisions to centralize distribution and commercialization activities; expanded the scale and global reach of its streaming services, Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Hotstar; transformed its parks and resorts worldwide, including improving the overall guest experience with new tools to customize and personalize visits; and leveraged new and innovative technologies to bring stories to life in more immersive and impactful ways.

Before becoming the seventh CEO in Disney’s nearly 100-year history, Chapek served as chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products since the segment’s creation in 2018, and prior to that he was chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts since 2015. During his tenure, Disney Parks saw the largest investment and expansion in its 60-year history, including the successful opening of Shanghai Disney Resort; nearly doubling the Disney Cruise Line fleet; introducing the most technologically advanced and immersive lands in the parks’ history, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort; the growth of Marvel-inspired attractions across the globe; and one of the most ambitious development projects at Disneyland Paris since the park first opened.

Chapek served previously as head of Disney Consumer Products, where he led a period of transformation in the worlds of play, storytelling, and learning; as president of distribution for The Walt Disney Studios, where he managed the company’s film content distribution strategy across multiple platforms; and, as president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, where he led the organization to record-setting performances and played a key role in the commercialization of the studio’s film business.

Throughout his decades-long tenure at Disney, Chapek made enhancing the employee experience a top priority, and drove initiatives and programs related to education; healthcare; childcare; diversity, equity and inclusion; veteran and active-duty military appreciation; and workforce development. Chapek has served on the board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help the organization leverage the power of Disney to make a difference in the lives of children with critical illnesses and their families.

Prior to joining Disney, Chapek worked in brand management at H. J. Heinz Company, and in advertising at J. Walter Thompson. He holds a degree in microbiology from Indiana University Bloomington and received his M.B.A. from Michigan State University.