After more than 20 years with The Walt Disney Company DIS, including multiple years as the CEO, Bob Chapek, was let go by the company in November 2022 with former CEO Bob Iger replacing him in his previous position.
Chapek has now taken on a new position at a different public company, recently making headlines for its conflict with one of the world’s largest corporations.
What Happened: Global medical technology company Masimo MASI announced that Bob Chapek has joined the company's Board of Directors. The move comes as Masimo is in the middle of an intense patent battle with Apple Inc AAPL.
Masimo highlighted Chapek's years of experience at Disney and his guidance of the media company through the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery in their announcement.
"Under his leadership, Disney strategically realigned its media and entertainment divisions, expanded the scale and global reach of its streaming services, made transformative changes to its parks and resorts worldwide, and leveraged new and innovative technologies to bring stories to life in more immersive and impactful ways," the company said.
During his time at Disney, Chapek worked for the Buena Vista entertainment division, with Consumer Products and as the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
Chapek's time with the company's consumer products included integrating the Star Wars brand into licensing deals after the media company acquired Lucasfilm.
"I am thrilled to join the Masimo Board," Chapek said. "I look forward to helping advance the company's growth by leveraging their core technologies in the consumer and consumer health spaces."
Masimo CEO Joe Kiani hinted that Chapek's experience could help with the company's latest transition.
"We are honored to have Bob join the Board. As we execute our hospital to home strategy, we expect to benefit greatly from Bob's role on our Board," Kiani said.
Related Link: Joe Biden Vs. Apple Watch: White House Upholds Ban, Masimo CEO One Of President’s ‘Closest Friends’
Why It's Important: The appointment of Chapek to the Board of Directors follows several changes made by the company in 2023.
The company previously added Quentin Koffey, chief investment officer of activist fund Politan Capital Management and health-care executive Michelle Brennan. The appointments came after pressure from Politan, which owns 9% of the company.
Masimo also added former Bayer Healthcare and Perrigo executive Rolf A. Classon to the Board of Directors in November.
Masimo won a patent battle against Apple that saw a ban put in place on certain models of the Apple Watch. The patents related to blood oxygen-reading technology held by Masimo that was infringed upon with newer Apple Watch models having similar technology.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled against Apple and put a ban on any watches from Apple that infringed on the patent. A federal court of appeals briefly suspended the ban, which allowed Apple to resume selling the watches, although on Wednesday, the court decided to allow the ban to take effect on Thursday.
Apple has also been working on a potential move to redesign the product to get around the patent infringement and import bans, according to reports.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives previously estimated the ban of the Apple Watch models could lead to the technology giant missing out on $300 million to $400 million in holiday sales. The Apple Watch business had an estimated $17 billion in revenue in the last year.
Chapek's history of leading Disney could become valuable during Masimo's battle with Apple, as Disney is well-known for pursuing copyright and intellectual property infringements.
MASI Price Action: Masimo shares closed at $122.57 on Wednesday, versus a 52-week trading range of $75.22 to $198.00.
Photo: Walt Disney Television on flickr
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