It was hard to be more of an insider at The Walt Disney Company than COO Thomas Staggs. The 26-year company veteran had been widely seen as the heir apparent to CEO Bob Iger — that is, until Staggs abruptly stepped down this month. News headlines trumpeted “Walt Disney Co Investors on Edge” and “Disney’s Succession Plan in Disarray.” With Iger’s contract ending in 2018, the company said its board “will broaden the scope of its succession planning process to identify and evaluate a robust slate of candidates for consideration.”