The Heir Apparent to Disney CEO Bog Iger Steps Down Thomas Staggs will end his current role early next month, but will remain with the company through the fiscal year.

By CNBC with Reuters

This story originally appeared on CNBC

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Thomas Staggs

Walt Disney Co. share prices fell Tuesday, a day after its surprise announcement that Chief Operating Officer Thomas Staggs, who had been seen as Bob Iger's heir apparent, will be leaving.

The stock was down more than 2 percent in premarket trading.

Staggs will remain employed by Disney as a special adviser to Iger through the company's fiscal year. He will step down from his current role effective May 6. and will leave the company at the end of the fiscal year, Disney said Monday.

Disney said Staggs' departure will broaden the scope of its succession planning process to evaluate a "robust slate of candidates."

Sources told CNBC that Staggs is leaving the company because he didn't receive assurances from the board that he would succeed Iger.

Brett Harriss, media analyst at Gabelli & Co, told CNBC on Tuesday it is possible the board wanted a candidate with more vision and a better ability to navigate content.

"I think they might be concerned that at the end of the day, he's a finance guy, right?" Harriss told CNBC's Squawk Box, referring to Staggs' 12-year tenure as Disney's chief financial officer. "Sure, he ran the parks, but that's very much an operating role."

Following his tenure as CFO, Staggs ran Disney's amusement parks division from 2010 until his promotion to COO in February 2015. That put him in the lead to succeed Iger.

The executive who had been seen as Stagg's chief rival for the top position, Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, announced last June that he would step down.

Staggs will retire as COO effective May 6 and will remain employed by Disney as a special advisor to Iger through the company's fiscal year, which goes through September. Staggs joined Disney in 1990 after working in investment banking at Morgan Stanley & Co.

CNBC's Julia Boorstin and Tom DiChristopher contributed.

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