Former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek is set to release a memoir detailing his perspective on his tenure and eventual firing, as well as his falling out with his predecessor, Bob Iger. The book, titled "Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth," is scheduled for release next month by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
The memoir is expected to address Chapek's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that saw the shutdown of Disney's parks, theaters, and cruise lines. The book's description poses the question of whether Chapek was made a "scapegoat" for the company's challenges during that time. "The stakes were high, the decisions unforgiving, and the backlash often inordinate, leaving him to wonder whether he had become the scapegoat in it all," the official description reads. Chapek was removed from his position in 2022, with Iger returning as CEO.
Chapek, who was handpicked by Iger to succeed him, has largely maintained a low profile since his dismissal in late 2022. "Behind the Castle Walls" promises to offer his account of the events leading to his departure.
Meanwhile, Iger is also reportedly working on a follow-up to his 2019 memoir, "The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company." Iger has enlisted the help of Nick Merrill and Dan Schwerin's Evergreen Strategy Group, known for their work with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for this project. Sources suggest Iger's renewed focus on a memoir is partly a response to an unauthorized biography being written about him by Wall Street Journal reporter Robbie Whelan. Anticipation for Whelan's book, which is rumored to contain unflattering details about Iger's leadership, has been building within The Walt Disney Company. Iger is reportedly concerned about the contents of Whelan's book and is using his own memoir to preemptively counter any negative revelations.