Disney's Bob Iger, Time's Businessperson of the Year, holds Baby Yoda in painting

"As soon as those ears popped up from under the blanket, and the eyes, I knew," Iger told Time.

Abrar Al-Heeti Video producer / CNET

Abrar Al-Heeti is a video host and producer for CNET, with an interest in internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. Before joining the video team, she was a writer for CNET's culture team. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.

Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET breaking down the latest trends on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, while also reporting on diversity and inclusion initiatives in Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Credentials

Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has twice been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.

See full bio

Abrar Al-Heeti

Dec. 11, 2019 3:32 p.m. PT

Painting of Disney CEO Bob Iger holding Baby Yoda — It was love at first sight for Disney CEO Bob Iger and Baby Yoda. Here, the babe celebrates Iger's win with a bowl of champagne -- um, we mean sparkling apple juice.
Tim O'Brien/Time

Time on Wednesday named Disney CEO Bob Iger its Businessperson of the Year on Twitter. And as part of the designation, artist Tim O'Brien created a painting of Iger holding a critter who's dominated the internet in recent weeks: Baby Yoda.

"Painting Bob Iger was fun, but of course, like almost the entire universe, being able to paint baby Yoda at a time when he's blowing up the internet was thrilling," O'Brien is quoted as saying in a tweet from Time.

“Painting Bob Iger was fun, but of course, like almost the entire universe, being able to paint baby Yoda at a time when he’s blowing up the internet was thrilling,” says artist Tim O’Brien, who has created more than 30 covers for TIME #TIMEPOY https://t.co/jN6wbV6H1Q pic.twitter.com/5MTTl2yq9U
— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2019

Since the release of The Mandalorian on Disney Plus, Baby Yoda has stolen the collective heart of the internet and inspired countless memes.

"As soon as those ears popped up from under the blanket, and the eyes, I knew," Iger said of Baby Yoda in the Time article.

Iger's designation as Time's Businessperson of the Year doesn't come as much of a surprise, given he runs a successful media giant that plays host to the Marvel and Star Wars

franchises. Disney has had a strong year at the box office, with Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time. On top of that, the new Disney Plus streaming service signed up more than 10 million subscribers soon after its launch last month, according to the company.