It was a tale of two CEO's with Disney and Pinterest. After a 12-year run, Pinterest (PINS, $19.96) co-founder Ben Silbermann is stepping down from his perch on the popular image and link-sharing service. Following word of Silbermann's departure, Pinterest's stock price rose by more than 8% in after-hours trading. That initial pop may have been a sigh of relief from some investors who've watched Pinterest's stock steadily decline over the last year. Bill Ready, who was previously in charge of Google's commerce business, is taking over the helm, effective Wednesday. Ready has previously also held leadership positions at PayPal. Silbermann will take up the newly created role of executive chairman and keep his board seat.
Over at Disney (DIS, $95.65), the company has announced that it has extended CEO Bob Chapek's contract for three years. Chapek's contract was set to expire in February next year, three years after he unexpectedly took the reins from Bob Iger. The news is notable not only because Disney is one of the world's biggest and best-known media companies but also because the company has experienced some very public missteps since Chapek began his tenure in 2020, raising questions on whether Disney would stick with Chapek after his contract ended. However, Disney's future now includes Chapek at the helm until at least 2025 and the stock is down about 38% this year as of Tuesday's close.
Why it matters
With turbulent stock prices and growing consumer discontent, businesses are looking for the right leadership to ride them through the storm and boost the balance sheet. In Pinterest's case they decided it was time to shuffle the pack in a bid to achieve its ad goals whilst Disney felt continuity is best practice even after the social missteps of the company and its CEO.
