Bob Iger’s Replacement as New Disney CEO Will Be Announced in 2026
The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors has named James P. Gorman as its new Chairman, effective January 2, 2025. He succeeds Mark G. Parker, who is departing after 9 years of service. This post shares details of the announcement, a succession planning update, plus our thoughts.
Gorman joined Disney’s board less than a year ago and in August was named the Chair of the Disney Board’s Succession Planning Committee, which is working to identify and prepare the next chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. He will continue to lead that committee after he takes over as board chairman from Nike Executive Chairman Parker. Gorman is currently Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley and, as previously announced, will be stepping down from that role on December 31, 2024.
As for Mark Parker, he was named Chairman of the Board just two years ago, succeeding Susan E. Arnold, who was ineligible for re-election pursuant to the 15-year term limit under Disney’s Board Tenure Policy. You might also recognize Parker’s name from the Battle of the Bobs/Bob Swap drama, as he was floated as an interim Disney CEO when the board first realized it had made a terrible mistake with Chapek and was preparing to oust him.
“James Gorman is an esteemed leader who has become an invaluable voice on the Disney Board since joining earlier this year, and I am extremely pleased that he has agreed to assume the role of Chairman upon my departure. Drawing on his vast experience, James is expertly guiding the extensive search process for a new CEO, which remains a top priority for the Board,” said Parker, who is Executive Chairman of NIKE, Inc.
“As I prepare to leave the Board to focus on other areas of my work, I am proud of Disney’s renewed position of strength and excited for the company’s future, and I want to thank my fellow directors, Bob Iger and his exemplary management team for their continued strong leadership and dedication.”
It’s unclear what “focus on other areas of my work” really means, but our guess is that this isn’t code, like “stepping down to spend more time with my family.” Nike just named a new CEO and has been struggling to keep ahead of its nascent competitors, among other things, so perhaps Parker is needed there.
“The Disney Board has benefited tremendously from James Gorman’s expertise and guidance, and we are lucky to have him as our next Chairman – particularly as the Board continues to move forward with the succession process,” Iger said. “I’m extremely grateful to Mark Parker for his many years of Board service and leadership, which have been so valuable to this company and its shareholders, and to me as CEO.”
“I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve as Disney’s Chairman at this important moment in the company’s history,” Gorman said. “In the short time I have had the opportunity to work with Mark, I have come to appreciate and deeply respect his authentic leadership, humility and intelligence. I know all Directors join me in saying we have been honored to serve with him as the Chairman of the Board.”
“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new CEO, which we now expect to announce in early 2026. This timing reflects the progress the Succession Planning Committee and the Board are making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract in December 2026,” Gorman said.
Bob Iger’s successor being announced in early 2026 is really the big news of the announcement–hence it being the headline and not Gorman taking over the role. Bob Iger’s contract was extended last summer through the end of 2026, with succession planning being an emphasis. More recently, there have been reports that Disney’s next CEO will be named in late 2025. This doesn’t necessarily reflect a delay–we’d expect the person to be named internally (and that subsequently leak to media) before there’s an official public-facing announcement.
As noted above, Gorman is Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley and will be ceding this role in December 2024. Previously, Gorman served as Morgan Stanley’s Chief Executive Officer from 2010 to 2023 and Chairman from 2012 to 2023. He joined the firm in 2006 and was named Co-President in 2007.
Before joining Morgan Stanley, Gorman held executive positions at Merrill Lynch and was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. He serves as a Director of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a member of the Business Council. He formerly served as a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and President of the Federal Advisory Council to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. Gorman has been a Director of the Company since 2024.
I don’t want to make a snap judgment on someone I don’t know anything about, but Gorman’s credentials don’t exactly instill confidence. Sure, he is well-credentialed and very impressive on paper. Certainly more accomplished than “amateur-grade Disney blogger.” But those very impressive positions don’t exactly translate to choosing a new leader for the world’s foremost creative company.
I mean, c’mon, McKinsey is essentially the antithesis of that. No offense to McKinsey consultants reading this. (Let me guess–I could improve this blog by laying off 40% of the staff? Not sure how that would work with 60% of a Tom, but probably couldn’t get any worse!) I also really liked Mark Parker, who seemed like a great fit to lead the search.
In the interest of fairness, Morgan Stanley did praise Gorman’s “exemplary execution of CEO succession planning.” And once again, I know absolutely nothing about the man. He’s undoubtedly extremely intelligent, and perhaps he “gets” Disney and what will make a good CEO for the unique company. Whenever it comes to this type of thing, I just worry that outsiders won’t take Parks & Resorts seriously, instead viewing them as frivolity for children or an asset to be squeezed.
Iger’s four direct reports are widely rumored to be the candidates who are being seriously considered as his successor. This includes ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro, as well as Disney Entertainment Co-Chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bergman.
Reports indicate that all have already begun the interview process with the succession planning committee, and that D’Amaro and Walden are the front-runners. I don’t know how seriously those reports should be taken. I know absolutely nothing and I would’ve guessed that D’Amaro and Walden would be front-runners simply by virtue of their positions, public appearances, and other variables.
Prior to this, Iger extended his tenure as CEO after planning to retire on four different occasions between 2013 and 2017. He then retired without warning, and subsequently returned by surprise. Well, surprise isn’t really the right word. Countless commentators predicted his return, including this blog.
If anything, this news is more surprising than anything in the past, because it reflects how succession planning for a company like Disney should be done. It appears to be methodical and thorough, which is already a sharp contrast to how the naming of Chapek went, if recent reports are to be believed. (And there’s no reason not to believe them given they pretty well track what played out in public view.)
My feelings on this are a bit complicated. I’ve mostly covered this elsewhere, so I’m not going to fixate on it here. To make a long story (mostly) short, I think that Bob Iger has been around too long and that Disney needs fresh blood. The whole Batman ‘you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain’ kinda deal, but less extreme. He did a great job up until the Fox acquisition, with unforced errors since, including his own succession planning (or lack thereof).
With that said, the Walt Disney Company is at an inflection point and there’s tremendous turmoil in the legacy media space. It’s a unique and complex corporation and there’s no one better than Bob Iger to fix and problems (even those he created indirectly by appointing Chapek). I suspect it’ll take until 2025 for Disney to emerge from the storm.
The runway through 2026 provides Iger the chance to cement his legacy; it also gives his successor enough runway for a clean break, and not having to be tarnished by the tough decisions that’ll be made now and in the next 18 months. It seems win-win to me.
Most critically for me–and this is a new development–Bob Iger sticking around through 2026 and his successor not being named until the beginning of that year gives Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro plenty of time to get “shovels in the ground” and meaningful progress made on everything announced at D23.
While I’m heartened by D’Amaro’s announcements at the D23 Expo and the emphasis on these projects already being in motion and opening within the next 5 years, I’m not completely convinced that’s true. There’s more certainty about these projects than what was announced (and subsequently cancelled) in 2019 or the non-announcements in 2022, but that still doesn’t make them 100%.
As we’ve discussed elsewhere, all it takes is a regime change to derail projects that aren’t sufficiently far along in construction. New leaders love to make their mark on theme park projects, in ways both good and bad. So let’s say that, for example, Villains Land in Magic Kingdom or Pandora in Disney California Adventure are only cleared parcels of land in late 2026.
Let’s further assume, for the sake of this hypothetical, that Dana Walden gets the nod as CEO. There’s nothing to then say that she loves Avatar as much as Iger or thinks villains are a good fit for Magic Kingdom. Those projects could get shelved or cancelled entirely. I’m not saying they will–just that the odds increase in such a scenario of any projects that aren’t already vertical.
There’s little to no risk of this if D’Amaro is named CEO, as that would essentially be continuity with the current Parks & Resorts regime. There may be little things over which he and Iger disagreed, but I cannot see him cancelling an entire land or altering the course of a project entirely. (Before any of you get excited about the positive flip side of this, the Rivers of America and whatever Monstropolis replaces are long gone before late 2026. A new CEO isn’t going to “save” anything–just delay development of empty land.)
Ultimately, this is also why I’d like to have someone from Parks & Resorts serve as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Right now, that would be Josh D’Amaro. Honestly, I’m becoming less and less bullish than I have been on D’Amaro since he came aboard Disney, largely because I don’t think his track record on completed projects is anything to write home about. He doesn’t really have a lot of positive projects that he can own as his own–the successes were all inherited from Chapek’s time as head of Parks & Resorts.
Nevertheless, I’d rather have D’Amaro over the alternatives for the simple reason that he’s a “Parks Guy.” Not only that, but I’d like to believe that his hands have been tied by the streaming woes and everything else, so treading water for a few years was the best case scenario. But it’s hard to look at the end result of the World Celebration at EPCOT overhaul and still draw that conclusion.
On a positive note, we’ve heard plenty about D’Amaro from past colleagues and Cast Members–and still want to give him the benefit of the doubt based on that. People who have worked with him–and not just frontline Cast Members who have superficial encounters–suggest that he’s the real deal. That D’Amaro is someone who truly “gets” Walt Disney World and Disneyland, cares about Cast Members and the guest experience, and would advocate for theme parks.
The bottom line is that I want to see someone–anyone–come from the Parks & Resorts side of the business. I want that to be the company’s focus. That’s my personal bias. It would be nice to have a CEO who came up through the parks and understands their importance to the company’s creative legacy–and not just as the goose(s) that lay golden eggs. Whether that’s Josh D’Amaro, the triumphant return of Tom Staggs, or some mystery third candidate–I’ll take them over anyone from ESPN or the studios.
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OUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about Disney naming Bob Iger’s successor as CEO in early 2026? Are you happy, disappointed, or indifferent towards the news? Recognize this as a ‘necessary’ move even if you’re not wild about it? Who do you think will be CEO of the Walt Disney Company on January 1, 2027? Will it be Bob Iger (still), Tom Staggs, Kevin Mayer, Josh D’Amaro, Dana Walden, Jimmy Pitaro, Alan Bergman, or none of the above? Who should it be? Thoughts on anything else discussed here? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the Walt Disney Company’s future? Think things will get better in 2025? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
fingers crossed for D’Amaro!
stop wasting money on streaming! Marvel and Star Wars have been driven into the ground. Put the focus back where it belongs: quality animation and world class parks.
Don’t bet on it. D’Amaro hasn’t done anything right.
I would be happy if Josh D’Amaro took over. I agree that the parks are a major part of Disney lore, especially as the diversity of streaming awakens. I struggle to find historical Disney shows that I grew up on. Horror shows on Disney+ offends me; but as part of a waning demographic, nobody cares what i think. I would’ve dumped ESPN! But I did get to meet Josh finally at a D23 event, and saw his committee that accompanied him. They were very patient as fans met & chatted w/him. They seemed to understand the draw. And, yes, I think Josh gets Disney magic, which to me is the most important qualification. That would translate to keeping Walt’s legacy alive in all of the branches of Disney. The world needs Walt’s spirit now more than ever. Disney isn’t just any Fortune 500 business. It can be, but it needs it’s roots to branch out into it’s own unique future existence.
Agree that Disney is NOT anything like other mega-businesses which are just factories of some sort churning out products. Disney is at its core creative people across the board. Studios, parks, merchandise, etc, all of it. That’s exactly what makes the parks so special and so far above everyone else. Nobody else is even a distant second in theme park creation. Sure, I enjoy Seaworld and Universal, etc but they are not in the same league, maybe excepting the Harry Potter stuff which is frankly amazing.
My take: Looking forward to Iger’s long overdue departure. I hope D’Amaro and the rest of his team are gone soon too. As for the fear of an outsider coming in, Eisner/Wells came in from outside and were the best team since Walt and Roy. Iger, at first, got by on the strong foundation that Eisner left him and then he started buying “stuff”. Next he began to take from the golden goose, the parks, to fund his purchases and offset the losses of his many failures. When it comes to the parks, Iger monetizes what he can and cuts what he can’t. Everything at the parks is far more expensive and more complicated than it used to be and to top it off, what’s left is less (park hours immediately come to mind). It’s like paying twice as much for a carton of ice cream that is now half the size of what it used to be. Oh, I almost forgot, Iger’s resorts and pools are boring, bland towers without any special design and theme. I wish he would have left 10 years ago.
I’ll take anybody that doesn’t preach bizarre religion, stays out of politics, doesn’t spend his time self-aggrandizing himself, or plotting how to run for governor of California. Plus is a fan of Walt Disney instead of viewing him as someone to apologize for.
Tom, you should be CEO of Disney!!!!!
Thanks for the endorsement! Unfortunately, I’m not qualified and I don’t have the disposition for such a role. I couldn’t even handle working City Hall in Magic Kingdom!
I also think being Disney CEO is one of those things that sounds fun to fans in theory, but would actually make most of us miserable.
I totally agree Tom. I liken it to being POTUS. Sounds like fun, until you realize it’s a 24/7/365 job and your personal interests and family are not second, but more like 5th-tier level and your life is consumed by the job. Were I qualified for the role and got it, I’d be more like Eisner, hanging out in Imagineering most of the time and talking with those who create the parks and original stories.
I shudder every time I read or hear “McKinsey”. That being said, this seems like a move to appease Wall Street. Having a guy with this pedigree at the wheel of the board will make whoever is next CEO more tolerable for “the street”. One would hope that the board—new members or not—understands that having a Chapek-esque CEO again would be very bad for the company and the stock. Having a guy like this as board chair covers them in some way from another hostile board takeover they had like last two years from Peltz. Now they have their own guy who only worries about “maximizing value for shareholders” instead of some loud outsider.
Great post as usual. I really hate to see people from outside the companies core confidence get top jobs. Look at Intel when they put a non-engineer in charge. Intel faltered as AMD and Nvidia flourished. A banker at the top gives me pause. Disney is not a bank. To think you can run a Media and Entertainment company like a Bank is crazy talk to me.
I dunno, man. Just look at Boeing’s stellar run over the last decade-plus. Oh wait…
I found your comment about McKinsey hillarious. We used them as a consultant after my company was sold and, yep, big layoffs ensued.
In McKinsey’s defense, they also were recently paid millions to tell New York City that, yes, trash cans work. Truly innovative ideas from these fine minds. https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-hired-mckinsey-to-assess-the-citys-waste-needs-2024-7
They also had the brilliance to advise a company that didn’t know how to get important documents signed when people were traveling to use e-signatures.
This is clearly the kind of creativity Disney needs !!!
Boeing, Enron, Valeant, SKS Microfinance …all wonderful (and barely the tip of the iceberg) end results from the minds of former McKinsey employees.
“amateur-grade Disney blogger.”
It’s good to be a bit humble and self deprecating for humor, but don’t undermine yourself.
Disney top execs should read your blogs AND the readers responses.
They’d be much more effective, informed and in touch.
It’s important they take you seriously.
If you don’t recognize your own talent and the power of your base, which you built, they never will.
Self-deprecating?!
Abraham Lincoln was an amateur attorney and politician, and look what he went on to do. Now, I’m not comparing myself to Abraham Lincoln…but I’m not-not comparing myself to him, either.
How’s that for humble? 😉
P.S. Sorry about the Mets. Grimace’s luck finally ran out.
I wish to echo those sentiments as well. I appreciate your very clear and concise analysis. You provide a great service to a substantial audience. Someone from the Disney higher-ups should have Tom Bricker on speed dial!
I HAVE NEVER HOPED I WAS WRONG MORE IN MY LIFE.
However …
Many of Disney’s senior leadership moves over the past 9 months or so have reeked of “getting the house fixed up and staged for an open house so we can put it on the market.” Some of the Apple moves have been curious, too. Sweet Jesus, I want to be wrong. But it feels like we’re going to hear about a merger/acquisition soon.
WHY would the leadership sign off on the new $400 line skipping service, a move they certainly had to know would piss off literally everyone but lead to an influx of cash that costs the company nothing on the front end?
WHY would they name a new chairman who has very little if any creative expertise but is very familiar with large corporate purchases and purges?
WHY would the most famous creative brand on earth continue to eschew new risky projects for theatrical releases, preferring instead to trot out sequel after sequel and rely on already-tired (but fiscally safe) IP for box office health?
WHY would “Good Bob” continue to punt on naming a successor for another 16 months, at a time when they just announced the largest expansion to parks and experiences since Walt announced Disney World at D23? (If he trusts Jd’A to oversee new lands and experiences around the world and a doubling of the DCL fleet, why isn’t he the clear choice to be the next CEO?)
On the flip side of that last point, if Josh IS the guy and the internal candidates already know this, why doesn’t Dana Walden bow out gracefully and go out on her own terms to avoid another round of “Disney left me at the altar” stories like we had from spurned internal candidates like we got when Eisner (finally) left?
Obviously I have no “insider info,” but as a pretty plugged in observer of corporate workings as well as a major Disneyphile, so many decisions of late have been straight out of the “get ready to be acquired” playbook.
For as long as I’ve been an adult in the fandom, there have been rumors that Iger would spin off parts of the company or was setting the table for an acquisition. And instead, he’s kept buying stuff. Too much stuff, even. Every chance he’s had to sell off assets in the last few years, he’s passed on.
Maybe this will be the time it finally happens, but I just don’t see it. A quick rundown in response to some of your points:
-$400 LLPP is way below CEO pay grade. Wouldn’t be shocked if Iger doesn’t even know about it. He probably does, but it’s not a sure thing.
-Playing it safe with theatrical releases just makes sense after so many bombs. Steady the ship before betting big again.
-If it *is* going to be D’Amaro, that wouldn’t be known yet. It’s going to take him a while to get the requisite experience with the non-parks side of the business.
-There was never any expectation that Iger would announce a successor this year or even in the first half of 2025.
I agree, Mr. Morgan Stanley is a bit concerning, but that could easily be explained away by his experience in succession planning and Disney being confident that the creative expertise will come from the in-house side. I still don’t love it, but not far-fetched.
The ONLY good thing about Disney possibly acquiring Crapple is that they MIGHT start making good products that are both innovative and quality instead of just chasing Samsung. Yeah, I said it! I hope that it never happens, frankly. That would be a colossal mistake, like how Boeing’s acquisition of their rival turned them from an engineer’s company into a banker’s tally book. Disney needs to be and always remain an Imagineer’s company.
Funny story, one of my best friends form high school is named James Gorman and we call him Big Bob…but it’s not the banker. I really do not want to see a banker take over because as Tom said, Disney is nothing like a bank or investment broker.
FWIW – You have the direction of that potential acquisition backwards, Nico.
Regardless, I don’t think it’s happening.
Haha, I’ve heard it proposed that way, but Disney is far bigger and more important to the world…
MrNico-
Not trying to be nitpicky here, but as of right now (1453 on 10/21/24) Disney’s market cap is 174.5 Million Dollars.
Apple’s market cap is 3.59 Trillion. With a “T.”
It won’t be Disney buying Apple, I’m afraid. Apple might not buy Disney, but it DEFINITELY won’t be the other way around.
Sorry, but sarcasm is hard to read in print sometimes. I think you missed the decimal in Disney’s value. But in short, Disney’s real value to the world far exceeds any market capacity figures when compared to Apple. While their market share for cell phones in these USA seems large, worldwide it’s paltry, below 20% every time I’ve seen figures quoted.
If Apple disappeared entirely from the world overnight a few diehard nerds would be sad. But if Disney disappeared, most of the world would be sad. IF Apple were to in some way be allowed to purchase Disney, that would certainly be the end of the company as a viable entity.
Yes, I did definitely mean Billion, not Million! 🙂
That being said, I disagree with you on one point and completely, wholeheartedly disagree with you on the other.
Apple is an incredibly important company in the creative space. I would venture to say that the vast majority of the creative brands you consume rely at least to some degree on Apple products, and some rely on Apple in totality. Their theoretical disappearing would make a much greater impact than a small blip on the radar.
However, I can’t agree with you more in terms of what the hypothetical purchase would mean to the Disney brand. I have thought about this way more often and for way longer than I should (I’m a major nerd), but I can’t come up with any scenario in which the post-acquisition Disney would be a company that looks anything like the company we’ve all to some degree come to know and love. Other than a massive influx of cash for the company and a major boost to the value of the stock I own in both companies over the long run, I can’t see any possible benefit. I have plenty of stock in plenty of companies and definitely don’t like the idea of either company getting in bed with the other for financial purposes.
Which is why it’s scary to me that they just put a soulless banker in charge of the board.
Oh I understand your view on Apple. Many friends are to some degree Apple nerds and insist their phones are great but I think they are actually their worst product. I do not like their nazi tactics in controlling everything which is why I stick with Android instead. I like having choices over most of my phone and applications, settings, etc. And music or other media, not having to go through their company store. Same with computers. Laughed when they started using Intel chips. But a couple of friends love their Macs while having to use Windoze computers for work and such. Not that I have any love for Microshaft and the crook Bill Gates either though. When I was in high school, Mac had the market on graphics and such but that is ancient history. Drafting class had a computer, Mac, with a very early version of AutoCAD on it, but we didn’t ever get to play with it.
Yes, I think Apple getting control over any part of Disney would be the death of it. It’s bad enough the majority of phones cases all over the shops are for iJunk vs real phones, and that’s just a smallish part of merchandise. I really cannot imagine ANY company acquiring Disney to be a good thing. There’s just not a match anywhere.
Crap.
That should have said “disagree on one point and completely, wholeheartedly AGREE on the other.”