In Washington, the jockeying for the 2016 presidential election has already begun.
In media circles, the 2016 race is for the Mouse House chief position and it is proving just as unpredictable, with two years to go before CEO Bob Iger’s predetermined exit.
The talk on the West Coast these past few weeks has a surprising candidate joining the list of those who might have a shot at the top slot: billionaire Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.
“The job is the most coveted role in all of media,” said one source close to the action. “People are angling early on.”
Disney TV boss Anne Sweeney took herself out of contention Tuesday by announcing her departure from the company. Few discussed Sweeney as a possible successor to Iger, one possible reason she opted out of the company.
The 44-year-old Sandberg already sits on the Disney board and is said to have had conversations about her interest.
“Sheryl has great leadership skills. Disney should pick someone who understands advertising, content and has experience of the digital future,” said one person campaigning for Sandberg, who used to run ad sales at Google.
The Facebook executive launched a campaign with Beyoncé on Monday encouraging girls to take leadership roles, though Sandberg is still the No. 2 at her own company. Sandberg has been on the Disney board since 2010. She’s also been a top executive at Google and a chief of staff at the Treasury Department.
Campaign-watchers say its no coincidence those rumors come at a time when Sandberg is launching another leg of her “Lean In” women’s leadership initiative.
Putting Sandberg in the mix would follow precedent.
Last time the Disney board discussed the succession back in 2005, Meg Whitman, then eBay chief and now CEO at Hewlett-Packard, was invited to go through the interview process.
The conventional wisdom on Wall Street is that the Disney crown belongs to either the chief financial officer, James “Jay” Rasulo, or parks chief Thomas Staggs, with Staggs widely believed to have the edge.
Wall Street sources say Staggs’ tenure at the parks has been viewed positively. The parks boss introduced new $ 1 billion technology MyMagic+, a wristband that provides guest data to the company in order to ease traffic flow, for instance.
But industry executives say the board wanted to cast a wider net. “They’re not happy with the two main choices,” said another source.
Last summer, Iger agreed to continue as CEO and chairman through July 2016, though some see Iger exiting sooner if he can get the board to settle on the right candidate.
Others wonder if ESPN boss John Skipper would have a shot.
Whether billionaire Sandberg would be tempted to take part in the process remains to be seen. While she’s made noises that suggest she’s soured on politics, she’s viewed as having a shot at a cabinet post if former State Department chief Hilary Clinton were to run and win the White House in 2016.
Sandberg may be ready for a move from Facebook, where she may no longer be needed now that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is nearing the two-year anniversary of the firm’s IPO. He just snapped up WhatsApp for $19 billion. “There’s a lot of goofy tech guys there now,” said one source, explaining why Sandberg could be looking for a move.
A Disney spokeswoman declined to comment. Sandberg referred calls to Disney.