Key Leadership Changes at Disney Parks Could Hint at Next Head of Division After D’Amaro
One of the big questions for the future of Disney Parks & Resorts (sorry, Experiences) is who becomes the segment Chairman when Josh D’Amaro succeeds CEO Bob Iger (sorry, if he’s announced as successor).
Prior to today, we would’ve said there are a couple leading candidates already in the division, but that we’re in the window where every reshuffling could be done with succession-planning in mind. As the result of a new leadership shake-up, we have a new name to add to the mix.
Here’s the announcement from the Walt Disney Company:
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro today announced the appointment of Michael Moriarty as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Disney Experiences, succeeding Kevin Lansberry.
Lansberry will be retiring in February 2026 after an extraordinary 39-year career with Disney that included a breadth of roles across Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts in Finance, Business Development, Alliances and Operations, as well as an interim role as CFO for The Walt Disney Company in 2023.
Moriarty brings nearly two decades of Disney leadership experience, including his time as former CFO at Walt Disney Imagineering and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, and finance leadership roles at Walt Disney World Resort. For the past five years, he has served as President and Managing Director of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.
Under Moriarty’s leadership, the resort expanded with the successful opening of World of Frozen — contributing to a record-breaking year in 2024 — and launched a year-long celebration of its 20th anniversary that is currently under way.
“Michael Moriarty brings a deep understanding of our long-term strategy to broaden the reach and impact of Disney Experiences,” said D’Amaro. “His global perspective and leadership will help guide us through an exciting chapter of growth, reaching new fans in new places and on new platforms.”
An announcement regarding Moriarty’s successor at Hong Kong Disneyland will be made at a later date.
Moriarty has had an incredibly successful tenure at Hong Kong Disneyland. Here are a few key financial highlights from the most recent fiscal year:
- HKDL recorded a historic net profit of HK$838 million, representing a year-on-year improvement of HK$1.2 billion.
- HKDL saw record EBITDA and revenue in FY24. EBITDA improved by HK$1.4 billion to HK$2.3 billion, and revenue grew by 54% year-on-year to HK$8.8 billion.
- Per capita guest spending grew by 28%.
- Total attendance reached an all-time high of 7.7 million, attributable to a strong rebound in mainland China and overseas visitation, as well as continued strong local momentum.
All of this is before World of Frozen had been open for a full year, or the 20th Anniversary started.
Based on what we saw during our last visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, the once “little castle park that could” has blossomed into its own. It’s probably a pretty safe bet that these numbers will show significant year-over-year improvement, with even higher profit, attendance and occupancy numbers.
Given Moriarty’s leadership in achieving these results, as well as opening World of Frozen, launching the 20th Anniversary, and getting the Marvel expansion back on track, it seems fairly obvious that he’d be considered for the Parks Chair position. This is an actual promotion–he’s not being put out to pasture with a fake job, like helming Disney’s coverage of the Olympics.
Speaking of fake jobs covering the Olympics, the other leaders I’d keep an eye on for the Parks Chair position are Thomas Natacha Rafalski, Présidente of Disneyland Paris and Thomas Mazloum, President of Disneyland Resort.
Both have strong credentials, and seem poised to continue their ascent up the ranks. I’ve also heard plenty of positives about both, and have had the chance to talk to Mazloum on a few occasions at various events and have come away impressed. Mazloum, in particular, has successfully managed a lot of major projects in challenging conditions post-reopening–and Disneyland in California is a frequent stepping-stone position to the top job.
I would be surprised if the current President of Walt Disney World is in the running; I’m kind of surprised he’s still around. But again, my perspective is necessarily that of an outsider. I’ll be closely watching other upcoming parks leadership changes to see who gets cycled into important new roles, and who is quietly sidelined with symbolic “promotions” to fake jobs.
As for the suggestion that Josh D’Amaro is a leading candidate to be Disney’s next CEO, or more accurately, the leading candidate, that’s not just our view. This from Bloomberg earlier in October:
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger was chatting at the Farmshop restaurant in Santa Monica, California, a couple weeks ago when the conversation turned tense.
His breakfast partner suggested Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney’s theme-parks division, “will do a great job when he’s appointed CEO.” Iger bristled, according to a person who witnessed the exchange. He raised his voice, saying the board hadn’t made a decision and that he had “no idea” where that notion was coming from.
The conversation reflects a growing consensus among many Disney executives, former executives and industry leaders that D’Amaro will succeed Iger when the company names a new CEO as planned early next year. The board is focused on four internal candidates, including D’Amaro, entertainment co-heads Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, and Jimmy Pitaro, who leads ESPN. Iger’s contract ends in December 2026.
This is one of several reports in the last couple of years suggesting that D’Amaro and Walden are the front-runners.
It’s possible these are just educated guesses as opposed to insider info, though. 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. When it comes to appearances, D’Amaro has made a lot of those over the last 6 months that would seem to signal he’s CEO in waiting.
More importantly, business is booming for the Experiences division. It became the company’s primary profit engine in 2022, replacing the declining cable TV business. Experiences now represents over 70% of Disney’s overall operating income, up from 41% in 2019 and 34.5% in 2018.
Experiences is the one division that has actually grown measurably since 2020. Through the first nine months of fiscal 2025, profit in the Disney Experiences division rose to $8.12 billion, a third more than Disney’s TV, film, streaming and sports segments combined. The past few years have been a struggle for those businesses.
Because of the segment’s success under D’Amaro’s leadership, it is also seeing $60 billion of investment over the next decade. It’s our expectation that this number actually ends up being lower than the actual spend (it also doesn’t account for projects/partnerships that will be revenue generators without investment, like Disneyland Abu Dhabi). And unlike the money pit that is streaming, there should actually be ROI from the parks!
Given all that, it seems only logical that Disney’s next CEO would come from its most successful division, and be the one person who has a fairly spotless record during that timeframe.
I won’t pretend to know much about Dana Walden. I’ve read a lot about her to get up to speed on succession planning; she seems to be reasonably well-liked and good at what she does.
But I’ll be the first to concede that I don’t have much passion for the entertainment side of the business, so much of my knowledge is superficial and not informed by any actual conversations with people. Just what I’ve read in the Hollywood trades. And when it comes to stuff like succession planning, a lot of that is probably placed by Walden’s camp to paint a positive picture of her. (Or conversely, I suppose, by the camps of her competition.)
So I’ll just point out the obvious. Beyond her business acumen and relationships with Hollywood talent, the advantage Walden has is that she’d be historic–Disney’s first female CEO. The liability that she poses is that she’d probably be viewed as the more political pick, not for that reason, but because of those same relationships and since her name has been involved with several high-profile problems. I’d hazard a guess that Disney’s Board of Directors would be reluctant to name Dana Walden as CEO between now and November 2028.
In what seems to be an increasingly unpopular opinion among Walt Disney World and Disneyland diehards, my hope is that D’Amaro is the next CEO. Admittedly, this is at least partially a matter of expediency and to ensure continuity of projects.
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. What if she secretly loves Bob’s Burgers or some other franchise that came over with her from Fox, and thinks that would be a good fit for Magic Kingdom and DCA expansion?
Suddenly we end up with two cloned Bob’s Burgers lands, making some of you who argued the Simpsons are “un-Disney” wish we could’ve have Springfield instead. I’m not saying this will happen, as it’s incredibly far-fetched. It’s just to underscore the point that leadership shake-ups result in priority and project changes, with new CEOs favoring their own pet properties. Some of you have a failure of imagination when it comes to the downside risk in the unknown.
There’s little to no risk of this if D’Amaro is named CEO. He 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. D’Amaro is the consistency candidate; anyone else could be an agent of change and chaos.
A good thing, I suppose, if you’d like to see some change and chaos–I know many fans supported the Peltz proxy battle for precisely this reason. But just remember that the grass is always greener. When you’re advocating for uncertain changes, you’re probably envisioning a best-case scenario where things get better. Instead consider the counterfactual, where things get measurably worse. The next CEO could hate theme parks, and see growth potential in other business units and want to over-invest in those.
Ultimately, this is why I’d like to have someone from Parks & Resorts serve as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Right now, that person would be Josh D’Amaro. I’ve become less bullish on D’Amaro since he came aboard Disney, largely because his track record on projects that were started and completed under his tenure is a mixed bag.
Nevertheless, I’d rather have D’Amaro over the realistic 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.
I would like to believe the blame for the EPCOT overhaul debacle lies elsewhere, and the 2025 projects that are underway will go much better. It already does seem like Walt Disney World is turning a corner and is aggressively moving forward with its $17 billion share of those $60 billion in parks projects.
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 were he CEO. I’m inclined to believe this. D’Amaro is on the ground in the parks constantly–and not just for photo ops or media events with a team of handlers. I’ve spotted him more times than I can count, just walking the parks or interacting with frontline Cast Members, without a camera crew or reporter in sight.
The bottom line is that I want to see someone come from the Parks & Resorts side of the business. I want that to be Disney’s focus. That’s my personal bias, but it’s also clearly in the company’s best financial interests. 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 Hollywood or ESPN.
Need Disney trip planning tips and comprehensive advice? Make sure to read Disney Parks Vacation Planning Guides, where you can find comprehensive guides to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond! For Disney updates, discount information, free downloads of our eBooks and wallpapers, and much more, sign up for our FREE email newsletter!
OUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about this leadership shake-up? 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), Josh D’Amaro, Dana Walden, Jimmy Pitaro, Alan Bergman, Tom Staggs, Kevin Mayer, or none of the above? Who should it be? 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!
“Let’s further assume, for the sake of this hypothetical, that Dana Walden gets the nod as CEO. What if she secretly loves Bob’s Burgers or some other franchise that came over with her from Fox, and thinks that would be a good fit for Magic Kingdom and DCA expansion?
Suddenly we end up with two cloned Bob’s Burgers lands, making some of you who argued the Simpsons are “un-Disney” wish we could’ve have Springfield instead.”
how dare you, sir. Bob’s Burgers is the best animated show on television today, maybe even the best comedy on TV period. The Simpsons has been garbage for the past two decades.
I would like any new CEO who could:
Bring the next Disney theme parks to Singapore (or Malaysia) with a smaller one in Australia and a good location in South America (eg. Brazil or Peru) simultaneously, instead of just mere cruises to serve the rich. Hope they can be completed alongside the Abu Dhabi ones.
Make way to bring the original Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies, Muppets Tonight, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Song of the South available at Disney+ or DVD/Blu Ray
Make a Muppets theme land, make Song of the South (Brer Rabbit country zone) and other classics return in foreign theme parks.
Provide travel lines that are easy and safe (cruise, train, etc.) between theme parks of different countries other than airline routes.
There’s no room in Singapore, and Universal already set up shop. East Asia already has three Disneylands, one of which is a multi-day experience (and I think Shanghai could add a second gate). Australia was considered a long time ago, but it just wasn’t feasible. South America could be possible, but Brazil is overrun with poverty & corruption, and Peru is too mountainous. Argentina would be a better pick — how about demolish the town that was founded by fugitive Nazis? And if we’re going for every continent, maybe just a second Animal Kingdom in South Africa.
My husband has been a CEO of a number of multinational corporations and when he heard Iger was planning to stay for another year, he thought that was way too long. The next leader needs to be in charge and make their own decisions!
D’Amaro having a hand in the destruction of ROA disqualifies him in my book. Especially when the ancient Tomorrow Land Speedway and the nearly dead space between Dumbo and the Train station could be utilized for Cars and Pixar. No way he “gets Walt”.
I’m excited to think Josh will be the next CEO! He just seems very nice and smiles and likes people, which sounds silly; but if you’re running a family-friendly business, I think it’s important! I think most agree that’s what distinguishes a true Disney fan from another opinion is we all love Walt’s sense of wonderment and optimism. I’m not saying Bob Iger gushes, but he “gets” Walt and how we are endeared to Walt. I don’t know anything about the lady candidate, but I do think it would be good to have someone near the top to groom for the future and to keep the entertainment side running smoothly.
Tom, I love that you appreciate Josh being a parks guy! I understand some people aren’t able to go to a park or strangely, are anti-parks (?!); but for legacy fans, the parks are a huge part of our lives!
Thanks for your stories and background information! I always enjoy !
Nice is fine we need prices lower for the American Family stop ripping them off every u wink ur eyes!
Greatly enjoy your thoughtful, insightful, informative, and just fun blog. Having been involved in many of these corporate transitions and served on boards, this is certainly a serious and significant decision by the company’s board. Assuming, as seems reasonable, that the two leading candidates are Dana Walden and Josh D’Amaro (with a couple of recently returned execs or perhaps an outsider possibly in the mix), the board can: pick D’Amaro for the reasons you noted, essentially going with the recently most successful division and the one that seems to be getting the biggest share of future capital; pick Walden and go with the more politically experienced and creative side person, thus recognizing the central importance of the creative side of the business in generating new IP which forms the basis for the longer term success of parks/resorts/ships; or, a co-CEO arrangement as many media companies have had, thereby recognizing each of their strengths and trying to retain them, at least for a couple of years transition (recently reported on by CNBC). Whoever it is will have to deal effectively with at least three more years of Trump/MAGA, and with the continuing great disruption on the entertainment side and relations with the artists. The history of Disney leadership may weigh on the board as well: from the founding, most leaders have been creatives; the only one from Parks/consumer products was the worst. Given the importance of managing the creative side and of deft handling of both the public and entertainment industry, Walden may well seem the more prudent selection to the board.
Good analysis.
The only counter I’d offer to this is that D’Amaro vs. Chapek is a night and day difference when it comes to handling the public. Up until this year, D’Amaro was almost universally-beloved by guests. He even managed to come out of COVID and the unpopular decisions relatively unscathed (a perception that turned out to be correct, as it was later revealed that Chapek was the driver of those decisions). Sentiment has started to sour on him a bit, but he’s still nothing like Chapek–who had well-deserved unpopularity long before he was named CEO.
The unknown is D’Amaro’s perception among creatives and in the entertainment industry. Chapek was never properly groomed to be CEO and there was no proper succession planning. And then when he did become CEO, he did nothing to endear himself to Hollywood. D’Amaro has already been attending a lot of Hollywood events with Iger, and who knows what else. If he is named CEO in early 2026, he’ll still have another year of on-the-job training/learning/relationship building that Chapek never had.
With all of that said, I still like the co-CEO arrangement, if structured smartly.
D’amaro is the reason prices are out of control, he is also why qualitiy merchandise in toilet, he ordered all merchdise from China and charged premium prices.
NO NO NO D’AMARO NO NO NO
Is that a real picture of Dana Walden? It looks AI-generated.
I assume it’s a real photo. It was included in some press release (not this one) that got sent out a while back.
You might consider the angle of Disney being bought. I have heard good arguments for Netflix to purchase Disney. Beyond its market cap, it has leadership depth with entertainment and innovation chops. Stranger Things could happen in expanding Parks and Cruise Lines with broader integrations and marketing opportunities. Of course, there is the old story of Apple buying Disney too. Tim Cook is in the process of retiring, which could with new leadership make this a new story again.
Definitely a possibility! It does seem like Iger has purposefully steered Disney away from this in the last couple of years, though. I could see divisions of the company being spun off and assets sold, but I’d be surprised if Disney were acquired by Netflix or Apple.
Thrilled for Moriarity. I bumped into him at a restaurant in Hong Kong around the time of the opening of DHK’s Frozen land. His enthusiasm for the brand and parks was what you’d expect, but what really stood out was how much he celebrated, cared about, and appreciated the people on the ground (cast members). Seemed genuinely emotional as he talked about this. I don’t know enough about D’Amaro or Lansberry to say, but Moriarity’s apparent grip on this belief as core can only benefit the parks’ future. It is the cast members that have the unique ability to take most of Disney’s physical experiences from great to something truly special.
Thanks for sharing that!
I don’t think fans realize just how big of a success story his turnaround of HKDL has been, either. I don’t know enough to comment on whether he “gets” Disney, but I’m heartened to hear your story–he sounds like a best of both worlds candidate for the top spot in Parks & Resorts.
The very first time I heard about D’Amaro was when he was chosen as head of Parks (or Disney World? it was a while ago) and the very first thing he did was start/fund a project to improve cast member breakrooms and background infrastructure that’s not usually prioritized because it’s not guest facing. It made me see him in a very positive light from the get go. I’ll admit since then, there’s been a lot of cutbacks of entertainment and other things I’m less fond of, but like you, I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.
That was back in February 2020 when he became President of Walt Disney World: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-investing-millions-cast-morale/
Really would’ve been interesting to see how things played out differently had COVID never happened.
Bob Iger is starting to sound like Charlton Heston, whenever it’s indicated he will eventually need to let it go.
It’s smart how D’AMaro and his team raised prices again, knowing full well that many people (especially SINKs and DINKs) WILL pay those higher prices. That kind of strong move must look good to the board. On the other hand, I can’t see how the recent Kimmel situation helped Walden.
I doubt the price increases really do anything for the board. The parks have raised prices every year since I’ve been a fan–even during the Great Recession!
The only slight exception to that was 2023 after Iger had returned and had made comments about too many price increases under Chapek. They did not raise ticket prices that year at Walt Disney World. But even then, he sort of had an “out” since they had raised prices twice in 2022–and by a lot!
Pretty much all of the price increases from 2023-2025 have been in line with inflation or close to it. By historical standards, that would look less strong to the board–but again, I’d hazard a guess that it’s a non-factor for them.
I agree, Iger tried to reimagine Disney+ as the new, pricey “Disney Afternoon” and it failed miserably, because he neglected the parks and legacy while overpaying Hollywood “talent” and movie expenses, but also expensing out his yacht crew costs sailing around the DHL islands, taking your eye off the ego/legacy prize. D’amaro could be a calming figure after Iger exposed himself as a fame ‘w’ bean counter the last 10+ years, but unless he is ready to really invest in and not destroy Walt’s vision, I think it is a lost cause. I don’t get that park energy vibe and passion from D’amaro. We don’t need ROA paved over for piston peak when Tomorrowland Speedway is an outdated exhaust fume polluting nightmare. It doesn’t take that much “vision” to figure it out. Cars 3 Land in Tomorrowland…..wow, what a concept
I really think the fact that D’Amaro has walked the parks for years shows he truly cares about them. It would be really easy to sit behind a desk or otherwise be occupied or “too busy” to wander the property. And when he’s out and about he is very friendly and approachable. That’s hard to dinner after year if you don’t really like what you’re doing.
Great, in-depth assessment!
Enjoyed the read. Time will tell. Onward and upward!
Will be happy when Iger is gone.
Interesting article on CNBC about potential co-CEOs at Disney
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/14/disney-ceo-succession-why-co-ceos-may-be-a-bad-idea.html
Very interesting read–thanks for sharing.
I disagree with the article’s conclusion, though. I think a co-leader situation could work, so long as: 1) there’s one clear boss, 2) the relationship is truly collaborative, and 3) Iger is completely gone. The third point needs to happen regardless.
It’s odd to me that so other companies are brought up, but there’s no mention of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. Obviously, those two were not co-CEOs, but they sure seemed to be equals–and that was what mattered and how they succeeded. If Disney could manage that with D’Amaro and Walden, it could be a winning combo. Disney is massive and multifaceted media conglomerate; the approach makes sense!