The lengthy wait is over—effectively, virtually. Disney’s succession plans have been up within the air for years now, notably after CEO Bob Iger’s departure in 2020 and abrupt return two years later after a failed stint by his hand-picked substitute, Bob Chapek.
However Disney on Monday gave us an official timestamp for when Disney’s Iger period could be over: Early 2026. It’s a second the 73-year-old CEO has been awaiting for fairly awhile and one thing he’s been something however quiet about. Throughout his second go-around as CEO, Iger stated he’s so eager on his retirement that he’s “obsessed” with discovering his substitute, he advised Kelly Ripa in a podcast launched Aug. 21 on Spotify.
Whereas Disney’s succession plans will probably be introduced in early 2026, Iger will stay at his publish till his contract ends in December 2026, in accordance with a assertion launched Monday by Disney.
“A crucial precedence earlier than us is to nominate a brand new CEO, which we now anticipate to announce in early 2026,” James P. Gorman, who was introduced Monday as the brand new chairman of the board efficient Jan. 2, 2026, stated within the assertion. He succeeds Mark G. Parker, who’s leaving Disney after 9 years on the board.
Iger additionally advised CNBC in April that selecting his substitute is “the board’s No. 1 precedence,” including Disney’s succession committee, which was established when he returned in 2022, held a number of conferences in 2023 and has plans to satisfy extra in 2024.
“It’s actually vital to call the best individual on the proper time—and to create a transition course of that’s wholesome,” Iger advised CNBC. “This can be a massive, difficult firm, and never solely is it vital to decide on the best individual, but it surely’s actually vital to offer that individual the entire alternative on the planet to achieve success within the job.”
Whereas the query about when Iger’s successor will probably be named has been answered, who that will probably be continues to be up within the air. However there are a number of candidates value watching to take the highest publish on the leisure large.
“The following CEO should be a visionary chief to information Disney by way of a quickly evolving media panorama, notably with the corporate’s emphasis on streaming and digital transformation,” Catherine Rymsha, a administration lecturer on the College of Massachusetts Lowell specializing in succession and expertise administration, advised Fortune. “Plus, an understanding of the right way to steadiness artistic innovation with monetary sustainability will probably be essential.”
Disney didn’t instantly reply to Fortune’s request for touch upon who could be named as Iger’s successor.
Who may substitute Bob Iger as Disney CEO?
The probably candidates for Disney’s subsequent CEO are inside, though a supply advised CNBC the corporate is conducting “due diligence on each inside and exterior candidates.”
Whereas poaching has been extra widespread (take Brian Niccol’s departure from Chipotle to Starbucks for example), outside-hire CEOs have an 84% larger probability of turnover than insiders within the first three years, in accordance with Harvard Enterprise Assessment.
The probably Disney CEO candidates are as follows:
Dana Walden, co-chair of filmed leisure
Walden is the co-chair of Disney Leisure and oversees the corporate’s total portfolio of leisure media, information and content material companies globally, together with its streaming enterprise. Beneath her management, Disney has hit peak streaming viewership with their content material on Hulu Originals, Disney TV Studios, Disney Branded TV, ABC Leisure, and ABC Information. She additionally oversees the manufacturing and improvement of among the largest TV exhibits of all time, together with “Glee,” “Gray’s Anatomy,” “Dancing with the Stars,” and “American Horror Story.”
She joined Disney in 2019 with the corporate’s acquisition of twenty first Century Fox, having served because the chair and CEO of Fox Tv Group. Walden and Iger additionally attended the Emmys collectively this yr, and she or he has been on the prime of the brief listing of potential CEO candidates for fairly a while.
“She stands out attributable to her deep experience in content material creation and her management in driving Disney’s huge leisure portfolio,” Rymsha stated.
Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney theme parks
D’Amaro’s official title at Disney is the chairman of Disney Experiences, main the theme parks and online game content material manufacturing for the corporate. He’s at the moment knee-deep in a 10-year, $60 billion funding for brand new Disney points of interest, lands, lodges, cruise ships, and expertise.
D’Amaro has just about been a Disney lifer, having been with the corporate since 1998 shortly after he graduated from Georgetown College. This makes him a “key contender, given his position in overseeing certainly one of Disney’s largest and most worthwhile divisions,” Rymsha stated.
Walden and D’Amaro have been probably the most steadily referenced potential candidates for CEO at Disney up to now. Actually, “Anybody past Dana or Josh might be a stretch,” a prime expertise dealmaker advised Selection.
D’Amaro oversees 12 Disney Parks throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, in addition to Disney Signature Experiences encompassing household leisure and journey outdoors of the theme park points of interest—which contains the 5 ships and two island locations part of the Disney Cruise Line. D’Amaro additionally manages the licensing enterprise for Disney toys, attire, and residential items.
Alan Bergman, co-chair of the movie studios
Alan Bergman is a co-chairman of Disney’s total leisure media portfolio, spearheading innovation within the filmmaking studios. He oversees the manufacturing and storytelling for Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, twentieth Century Studios, and Searchlight Photos. Bergman can be concerned on the musical aspect—he manages the companies Disney Music Group and Disney Theatrical Group, which contain Broadway and different stage productions.
As Disney’s film chief, Bergman has catapulted the success of the corporate’s movies to new heights. Since he grew to become president of the studios in 2005, he led the manufacturing of dozens of Disney films which have all individually grossed over $1 billion on the field workplace, with hits like “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avatar: The Manner of Water,” “Star Wars: The Drive Awakens,” and surpassing $2 billion. Bergman can be a member of the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences, and the Tv Academy. Beneath his watch, the corporate set a number of field workplace information, main the worldwide field workplace from 2015 to 2022, together with a record-setting $11 billion worldwide gross in 2019.
Bergman has been with The Walt Disney Studios for the previous 20 years. He held a slew of different management positions with the movie studios since becoming a member of the corporate.
James Pitaro, ESPN chairman
Pitaro stepped into the position because the chairman for ESPN in early 2023, main one of many three main enterprise segments for Disney. He manages the corporate’s total sports activities portfolio, from content material and merchandise to experiences and artistic improvement. His work most not too long ago entailed main ESPN’s reside programming networks, together with sports activities information and unscripted content material for ESPN+ and ABC.
Pitaro was first named president and co-chair of ESPN in 2018 after serving as chairman of Disney Client Merchandise and Interactive Media. And he stepped into the position at a tumultuous time: Client habits have been quickly altering, and streaming was all the craze. Pitaro was positioned on the Sports activities Enterprise Journal’s “Forty underneath 40” rating in 2009, and in 2020 he was named the publication’s Sports activities Govt of the yr.
Kevin Mayer + Tom Staggs
Mayer and Staggs have been as soon as thought of heirs obvious to Iger are additionally again at Disney in advisory roles, so perhaps this time round they’ll land the highest job.
