MUMBAI: Dick Cook, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios, resigned late Friday following struggles with profitability, creative focus and a shifting relationship with other Disney units.

Cook, who started at the Walt Disney Company 38 years ago as a theme park monorail driver, said in a statement that he had been contemplating a move for some time.

Under Cook, the studio also showed a reluctance to adopt a new focus on companywide franchises. Hit Disney Channel properties and stars, for instance, were not immediately embraced for their feature potential.

No successor has yet been named. Cook’s departure left some megawatt producers with a sudden void. “I’m completely shocked — as is literally everybody I’ve spoken to,” said Scott Rudin, whose production company has a first-look deal with Disney.

“I’ve collaborated with him on so many movies — since “Sister Act” — and have only ever adored him as a friend and as a boss. Dick has single-handedly made possible some of the very best things that have happened to me in my career.”

with “Old Dogs,” a comedy that stars John Travolta and Robin Williams.