BOB CHAPEK - AUTHOR BIO (short, 75 words)

Bob Chapek spent nearly 30 years at The Walt Disney Company, leading its home
entertainment, consumer products and parks businesses before serving as Chief
Executive Officer from February 2020 to November 2022. He is a graduate of
Indiana University and holds an MBA from Michigan State University. He splits
his time between the Florida Keys and Ventura County, CA. Behind the Castle Walls,
written with Don Yaeger, is published by Gallery Books on September 29, 2026.


BOB CHAPEK - AUTHOR BIO (long, 220 words)

Robert A. Chapek grew up in Robertsdale, in Hammond, Indiana, the son of a
refinery machinist and an office manager. He studied microbiology at Indiana
University, then spent a decade in packaged goods and advertising before joining
Disney in 1993 as a marketing director in the home video division, an era when
the product shipped on cassette.

He went on to lead Buena Vista Home Entertainment through the move to DVD and
Blu-ray. Disney Consumer Products came next, where he folded Star Wars into the
company's licensing engine after the Lucasfilm acquisition, making Disney the
largest licensor of intellectual property in the world. As chairman of Walt
Disney Parks and Resorts he opened Shanghai Disneyland, built Pandora and Star
Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and invested more than $24 billion in parks, attractions,
hotels and ships.

He became CEO on February 25, 2020, days before the pandemic closed the
company's parks, cinemas and cruise lines. He oversaw the reopening of every
site worldwide and the launch of Disney+ as its own business. He left the
company in November 2022 and has spent the years since consulting, advising and
writing.


BOOK FACTS

Title: Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth
Author: Bob Chapek, with Don Yaeger
Publisher: Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Publication: September 29, 2026
Formats: Hardcover, ebook, unabridged audio
Pages: 272
Hardcover ISBN: 9781668222089
Ebook ISBN: 9781668222102
List price: $30.00 hardcover


PRESS CONTACT

Publishing enquiries: Gallery Books publicity, Simon & Schuster.


This document is an independent press resource. It is not affiliated with or
endorsed by The Walt Disney Company, Gallery Books or Simon & Schuster.