Disney COO Thomas Staggs To Step Down; Shares Fall

Walt Disney Co DIS shares were under heavy pressure Monday afternoon, down more than 1.5 percent to around $97.04 in the after-hours session.

Investors in the name are responding to a statement from Disney disclosing its COO, Thomas Staggs, will be stepping down from his position as of May 6, 2016. The move had first been reported by The New York Times.

Staggs was named to the role in early February of 2015.

According to a Tweet from CNBC, Staggs was not given assurance by the Disney Board he would be CEO Bob Iger's successor. Staggs and the Board subsequently mutually agreed he should leave, according to the Tweet.

Disney's press release showed, "With approximately two years left before Mr. Iger steps down as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Disney's Board of Directors will broaden the scope of its succession planning process to identify and evaluate a robust slate of candidates for consideration."

Staggs will remain with Disney as a "special advisor" to Bob Iger through this fiscal year.

From Michael Eisner to Jefferey Katzenberg to Michael Ovits, Disney has a history of some bumpy transitions.

"In many ways, choosing a successor for Mr. Iger is a near-impossible task," said The New York Times. "Under his leadership, Disney has made a number of transformative acquisitions, including buying Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm and Pixar Animation Studios. Last year, Disney had $8.4 billion in profit, a 12 percent increase from the year before."