Bob Iger had been out of Walt Disney Co. for nearly a year, but as most people around him knew, he had never really let go. Acting almost as a shadow CEO, he had undermined his successor and provided an ear for unhappy Disney executives, some of whom he had mentored.
When the call to return as chief executive came, it was from someone on his old team. Mr. Iger later told people he had an inkling of how the script would go.
