Thomas Staggs, the seeming heir apparent to CEO Bob Iger of Walt Disney Company, is set to relinquish his position as chief operating officer effective May 6. He will, however, remain as an employee of the company until fall to serve as special adviser to Iger.

Observers see Staggs' unexpected announcement as a bump to a smooth power transition in the company. In a recent Wall Street Journal news report, a person who has knowledge of the matter told the New York-based newspaper that Staggs made the decision after learning that the board, along with Disney Chairman Iger, was planning on broadening the search for the top post. This means that more candidates would lessen Staggs' chances for the coveted position.

The same news report states that the board decision was made based on an evaluation of Staggs' performance as COO for the past year. The finding was that the board could not assure him of the company's stewardship. They needed to broaden the scope of their search for the CEO's successor with the option to consider candidates from the outside.

Staggs' announcement came as a surprise to many. The employees of the Disney conglomerate where he was known as a longtime personal friend of Iger and shared Iger's leadership style were anything but shocked. So was the stock market. Disney shares fell by 2 percent in after-hours trading.

A 26-Year Career

Staggs joined the Disney group in 1990 as head of Strategic Planning and later became the Chief Financial Officer in 1998. He was chairman of Disney's parks and resorts business before he was appointed COO in February 2015. Before Disney, he was an investment banker at Dain Bosworth and later at Morgan Stanley.

Iger's leadership is marked by acquisitions and expansions. The expanded theme park project that Staggs oversaw is a much bigger outfit than people know. Disney's parks and resorts have 130,000 people in their payrolls, spread in 13 parks visited by about 133 million people a year in three continents. The theme park venture also boasts four Disney cruise ocean liners, Aulani resort in Hawaii, 40 hotels and a condo chain.

Disney After Thomas Staggs

In a post-Staggs era, Iger will all the more continue expanding the Disney empire. But he and his board will need to extend the reach of their search light for the person who can adhere to the CEO's fundamental priority - that of enhancing and protecting Disney's warm, family-friendly brand.

Speculations are rife on Staggs' replacement. Already, The Hollywood Reporter is floating some names: NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke, 21st Century Fox COO Chase Carey, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Bob Iger himself.

Whoever the choice will be, the person that follows Staggs will face one of the toughest tasks in the industry.