The Walt Disney Company Names a New CEO

In July 2023, Bob Iger signed a two-year contract extension to keep him with his company. At the time, Iger indicated that this would be his final contract, and we now know that statement to be true. Yes, The Walt Disney Company has named a new CEO. So, who won between the two rumored favorites? Read on to learn who will lead Disney into a new era.

Disney Parks for the Win!

When Bob Iger unexpectedly returned to Disney in November 2022, speculation immediately centered on who would succeed him. After all, Iger had already retired from Disney once before, and the executive was 71 years old with a birthday in a couple of months. So, everyone realized his return would be short-lived.

Iger surprised Wall Street observers by signing that other two-year extension, which kicked the can down the road for another couple of years. However, Disney confirmed that the company would make a decision in the not-too-distant future.

Later, the company brought former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman onboard to head the search for the next leader at Disney. Gorman had just successfully navigated a successful succession search at Morgan Stanley, somehow keeping three different highly qualified executives onboard. Gorman’s solution involved the promotion of Ted Pick to CEO, with promotions for the two people who failed to win. Now, Gorman has mimicked that tactic at Disney.

I say this because Gorman has done the expected. He has selected Josh D’Amaro, the Chairman of Disney Experiences, to succeed Bob Iger as CEO. You could hear the collective cheer of millions of Disney fans at the announcement. D’Amaro’s popularity dwarfs anyone else at the company, and he’s definitely the choice of the staff at Walt Disney Imagineering as well. 

Meanwhile, Dana Walden, the presumed co-favorite for the role, will be staying at Disney as well. As with his Morgan Stanley succession plan, Gorman discovered a path to keep both highly proficient executives. Walden will step into a newly created role as President and Chief Creative Officer at Disney. 

So, it’s not quite the Co-CEOs strategy that some had suggested/predicted. However, this tactic empowers both of Disney’s top executives while assuring no turnover at the top of the org chart. Speculation had centered on whether Disney could keep both D’Amaro and Walden without giving each one a CEO title. Therefore, this announcement feels like a major win for Disney and Gorman. 

About Josh D’Amaro 

(Photo Credit: The Walt Disney Company)

In 1998, Josh D’Amaro joined Disneyland Resort as a new Cast Member. At the time, nobody could have anticipated his remarkable career ascension. D’Amaro joined Disney from The Gilette Company and quickly became Vice President of Sales and Travel Trade Marketing. Since then, he has worked his way through various dream jobs at Disney.

At one point, the executive held the title of Vice-President of Animal Kingdom and then later stood as the President of Disneyland Resort. Before that, Disney’s new CEO had worked as Chief Financial Officer for Disney Consumer Products Licensing, which speaks to the depth of his experience. D’Amaro has held many job titles at Disney, almost all of which were in significant leadership positions.

Within the past decade, D’Amaro’s Disney career has bloomed in full, starting in 2017. That’s when he took the title of Chief Commercial Officer at Walt Disney World Resort, placing him under the purview of Bob Chapek. As the latter individual positioned himself to become Disney’s CEO in 2020, he brought D’Amaro with him.

In 2019, D’Amaro became President of Walt Disney World Resort, making him the rare executive to lead Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Then, when Bob Iger suddenly retired for the first time in 2020, just before the pandemic, Chapek promoted D’Amaro again.

At that point, D’Amaro earned his most recent promotion as Chairman of Disney Experiences, a title he has held for more than five years. Even after Chapek fell out of favor and was terminated by Disney’s Board of Directors, D’Amaro remained wildly popular. He’s the rare executive who worked well with Iger and Chapek, the latter of whom often made his employees pick sides. That fact speaks to both D’Amaro’s diplomatic skills and his unrivaled charisma.

Why Disney Chose D’Amaro 

Still, James Gorman did not select Disney’s newest CEO based on people skills. D’Amaro has demonstrated an impeccable ability to turn a profit in all instances. Disney Experiences, the theme parks division, famously earned more than half of Disney’s operating income in fiscal 2025. Then, during Monday’s latest quarter earnings report, Experiences was the only major division that returned a solid profit. 

Meanwhile, the other divisions, including Walden’s Disney Entertainment, struggled with operating income declines.  If the die wasn’t already cast on whom Disney would select, that earnings report likely sealed the deal, as Disney has known the results for more than a month. 

To a larger point, this move makes perfect sense for any number of reasons. D’Amaro already lists 185,000 Cast Members in his division. So, the step up to the role of CEO isn’t even a big jump for him. According to Disney, D’Amaro “oversees 12 theme parks and 57 resort hotels worldwide, with plans for a new park in Abu Dhabi. His responsibilities include Disney Signature Experiences—including Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Disney Institute, and Storyliving by Disney.”

So, Disney Vacation Club fans have known the executive for ages now and trust him completely. It’s D’Amaro who can attend events like SXSW and come across as one of us. Just look how much fun he’s having here:

Long story short, Disney just promoted someone like you and me to lead the company’s next generation. The 54-year-old executive appears positioned to lead Disney for a similar amount of time as Iger did. So, this announcement feels like a win for Disney fans and especially DVC members everywhere. And as a happy bonus, Disney gets to keep the impeccable Dana Walden to boot.

As for Iger, the executive’s contract runs through December 31st, 2026. However, recent reports have suggested that Iger will not finish his contract, at least not in the role of CEO. 

The Wall Street Journal indicates that D’Amaro will officially succeed Iger on March 18th. This report counters previous ones by explicitly stating Iger will stay through the end of the year as a “senior adviser and member of Disney’s board.” So, at most, Bob Iger has less than 11 months remaining at Disney. Meanwhile, Josh D’Amaro earns his dream job in just six weeks.

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