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2023 Letter to the Shareholders
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February 10, 2023
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Dear Fellow Shareholders,
We are grateful for your support as Disney marks our 100th anniversary. Few
companies have the privilege of celebrating such a milestone, which
is emblematic of our constant evolution and ability to innovate and
set the standard for our industry. With the richest set of assets
and intellectual property in the media sector and Disney’s legacy
of world-class storytelling, we continue to strive to build
memories that last a lifetime and nurture deep emotional
connections with audiences around the world. Reflecting back on
fiscal 2022 and looking forward to the year ahead, we are proud of
our accomplishments towards achieving our long-term goals and
excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for The Walt Disney
Company and its shareholders.
Your company has an unrivaled combination of content, creative
talent and distribution capabilities that have propelled our
world-class storytelling. We won 6 Academy Awards and 26 Primetime
Emmy Awards in 2022 across our studios and achieved an additional
19 news and documentary Emmy wins across ABC News, National
Geographic, FX and Hulu. We saw strong revenue and profit growth at
our domestic parks in fiscal 2022. We continued to invest in
direct-to-consumer streaming
throughout the year and ended the fiscal year with more than
235 million direct-to-consumer subscriptions
across our services.
In November, we announced Bob Iger’s return to the role of Chief
Executive Officer. While remaining focused on the ongoing evolution
of our core operating model, the Board gave Bob a dual mandate for
his two-year term to
rebalance investment with return opportunity while retaining the
focus on the creative talent that defines Disney and to assist the
Board in ongoing leadership succession planning. We are confident
that Bob’s deep understanding of the Company and industry through
his four decades of experience at Disney, including 15 years as
CEO, positions him well to set the strategic direction for our
continued value creation, which he has a strong track record of
delivering. Bob is simultaneously prioritizing assisting the Board
in identifying, developing and mentoring a successor CEO, a process
which has already begun.
We are also excited to be welcoming Mark Parker into his role as
Chairman of the Board, effective following our 2023 Annual Meeting
of Shareholders. Mark’s four decades of experience at a Fortune 100
consumer-facing company, including his service as executive
chairman and as chairman of the board, president and chief
executive officer; successful history navigating chief executive
officer succession; and deep understanding of the dynamic operating
environment currently facing international, consumer-facing
companies with global recognition render him ideally suited to take
on this role. We want to thank Susan Arnold for her 15 years of
dedicated service to Disney. Susan’s leadership on the Board has
been invaluable, as she navigated through significant strategic
shifts in the business while serving as an exemplary steward of the
Disney brand.
As a Board, we have continued to evolve to ensure that we have the
right combination of backgrounds, skill sets and perspectives to
guide the Company into the future. Today, Disney’s Directors bring
experience across a relevant range of skill sets including brand,
marketing and retail, direct-to-consumer expertise and
technology and innovation. We were excited to welcome Carolyn
Everson to the Board as a new Director in November. Carolyn is a
well-respected leader with deep experience in roles at complex
global companies, with a strong background in building world-class
media and digital advertising businesses. Carolyn adds to a group
of Directors with an optimal combination of experience and skills
that are vital to Disney’s strategic priorities, expansive reach,
and business mix.
We have continued to remain responsive to the feedback of our
shareholders across a number of different focus areas. A full list
of enhancements that the Board approved to related policies,
initiatives and disclosures as informed by shareholders can be
found in the section of the proxy statement titled ”Proxy
Summary — Shareholder Engagement and Responsiveness.”
We thank you for your investment and look forward to continuing our
ongoing dialogue. It has been a privilege to speak with many of you
during our time at Disney, and we thank you for helping us continue
to improve as we look forward to our next century.
Sincerely,
The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors