Josh D’Amaro Appointed CEO and Dana Walden Takes on President & Chief Creative Officer Role at Disney

Disney Appoints Josh D’Amaro as CEO Following Leadership Transition

Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences, has been appointed as the new CEO of the Walt Disney Company. This announcement concludes a closely monitored multi-year search for a successor to former CEO Bob Iger.

In a significant move, Dana Walden, Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, has been named President and Chief Creative Officer, marking the establishment of a new position within the company. Both appointments received unanimous approval from Disney’s board of directors and will take effect during the company’s annual meeting on March 18. Additionally, the board plans to elect D’Amaro to its ranks at that time.

“Josh D’Amaro is an exceptional leader and the right person to become our next CEO,” Iger stated in the official announcement. “He has an instinctive appreciation of the Disney brand and a deep understanding of what resonates with our audiences, combined with the rigor and attention to detail needed to deliver some of our most ambitious projects.”

D’Amaro, 54, is a 28-year veteran of Disney and was one of four internal candidates considered for the CEO position, alongside Walden, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman. Pitaro and Bergman will continue in their current roles, the company confirmed.

Over the years, the Disney board’s succession committee briefly explored external candidates, but no significant traction was found. With a workforce of 231,000 employees spanning multiple continents, steering Disney presents a formidable challenge for outside leadership. D’Amaro will be the eighth individual to take on the CEO role since the company’s inception in 1923.

Initial discussions included the possibility of a co-CEO model for D’Amaro and Walden, but the board ultimately opted for a more traditional structure. While co-leadership has become somewhat more common in the entertainment sector, it remains rare in corporate governance.

D’Amaro joined Disney in 1998 and has held various positions across the company, including Chief Financial Officer of Disney Consumer Products Global Licensing and President of Disneyland and Walt Disney World in Florida. He took the helm of the parks division in 2020, guiding it through the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. A Boston native, D’Amaro graduated from Georgetown University.

Walden, who joined Disney in 2019 following the company’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, has successfully overseen ABC, Disney Television Studios, and FX, among other divisions. Under her leadership, ABC has consistently ranked as the top entertainment network for the past four years, producing hits such as the comedy series Abbott Elementary.

The succession process has been overseen by James Gorman, the newly appointed chairman of Disney’s board. Gorman, formerly the CEO of Morgan Stanley, has earned acclaim for his handling of succession issues within his previous role, a challenge Disney has faced since Michael Eisner’s departure from power in the early 2000s.

Iger, who is 74, previously reversed his own retirement plans, initially stepping down in 2020 before returning as CEO in 2022 following the tumultuous tenure of Bob Chapek. Iger’s first round as CEO saw him orchestrate significant strategic moves, including the high-profile $71.3 billion acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox.

The Experiences division, which encompasses Disney’s parks, resorts, and cruise operations, has become a primary growth engine for the company. In 2023, Disney announced a plan to invest $60 billion in this sector over the next decade, including a new theme park in Abu Dhabi. Last fiscal year, revenue from the Experiences segment grew by 6% to $36.2 billion.

As Disney embarks on this new chapter, D’Amaro will confront the complexities of an evolving media landscape, addressing challenges in streaming, linear television declines, and the rising costs associated with acquiring sports rights. With Disney’s streaming services navigating profitability, the company’s future direction remains closely watched.

“The good news is that the company is in much better shape today than it was three years ago,” Iger reflected during a recent earnings call. “We have done significant work to improve conditions and have created numerous opportunities. In a world that evolves so rapidly, attempting to maintain the status quo would be a mistake, and I am confident my successor will not do that.”