Disney shares dipped 1.5% on Tuesday after the company crowned Experiences chairman Josh D\u2019Amaro as its next CEO and Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden as president and chief creative officer.<\/p>\n
Iger, whose contract is set to expire at the end of 2026<\/a>, will transition into the role of senior advisor and remain a board member, subject to the vote at Disney\u2019s annual meeting on March 18. He will step down from the executive committee of the board after the annual meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Disney stock, which is trading at around $102 per share as of Tuesday morning, has fallen 9.8% in the past month, 13.8% in the past six months, 9.7% in the past year and 43% in the past five years.<\/p>\n Guggenheim Securities analyst Michael Morris says D\u2019Amaro\u2019s appointment represents a potential inflection point for Disney\u2019s strategic direction. He added that D\u2019Amaro\u2019s expertise in the company\u2019s Experiences division \u201cpositions him well to drive a more integrated approach to leveraging Disney\u2019s brands across businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe his leadership could result in more disciplined content investment decisions, better coordination between content creation and distribution, and enhanced focus on high-return consumer touchpoints,\u201d Morris added. \u201cWhile some observers view the timing as providing an easier setup for the incoming CEO, we believe the challenges facing the business \u2014 including linear decline, streaming profitability and Experiences investment returns \u2014 remain substantial and will require decisive strategic action.\u201d<\/p>\n D\u2019Amaro, who first joined Disney in 1998, has previously held leadership roles both in the U.S. and internationally across finance, business strategy, marketing, creative development and operations, including chief financial officer of Disney Consumer Products Global Licensing and president of Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort.<\/p>\n As chairman of the Experiences division, D\u2019Amaro has led a team of 185,000 cast members across 12 theme parks and 57 resort hotels in six global destinations in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He has overseen the expansion of Disney theme parks across the globe, with new lands and attractions such as Star Wars: Galaxy\u2019s Edge, the Marvel-themed Avengers Campus, Mickey and Minnie\u2019s Runaway Railway and World of Frozen.<\/p>\n In addition to the company\u2019s theme parks, his oversight includes Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney Consumer Products, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Signature Experiences, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney and Storyliving by Disney.\u00a0<\/p>\n D\u2019Amaro\u2019s appointment comes after a years-long search process led by the Disney board\u2019s succession planning committee, which includes chairman James Gorman, who\u00a0led his own search for a successor after an 18-year run as Morgan Stanley\u2019s CEO,<\/a>\u00a0and directors Mary Barra, Jeremy Darroch and Calvin McDonald.<\/p>\n He was one of four internal candidates in the running for the job. Other Disney executives under consideration included Walden, Disney Entertainment co-chair Alan Bergman and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro. All four candidates went through a \u201crigorous\u201d preparation process that included mentorship from Iger, external coaching and engagement with all 10 of the board\u2019s directors. <\/p>\n In fiscal 2025 alone, the succession planning committee met five times. It reported to the full board at every scheduled meeting and reserved time to meet without Iger present as appropriate. It also discussed succession with Iger present at least once a year.<\/p>\n As part of the discussions, the board\u2019s compensation committee reviewed and considered shareholder feedback to determine a new CEO pay package when succession takes place and design an executive compensation program aimed at \u201cdriving the creation of long-term shareholder value.\u201d In 2025, Iger was paid $45.8 million, an 11.5% increase from $41.1 million in 2024. D\u2019Amaro will receive a pay package of approximately $38 million in his first year, while Walden will receive approximately $24 million.<\/p>\n Iger returned to Disney as CEO in November 2022 following the disastrous ouster of his successor-turned-predecessor Bob Chapek.<\/p>\n Chapek, who previously served as the company\u2019s parks chief before taking on the role of CEO from 2020 to 2022, had a tenure that was marked by multiple missteps, including\u00a0a poorly handled lawsuit from Scarlett Johansson<\/a>\u00a0over her salary tied to the streaming release of \u201cBlack Widow\u201d as well as his initial decision to\u00a0stay mum<\/a>\u00a0about Florida\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d bill,\u00a0drawing the ire<\/a>\u00a0of numerous employees. He also was in charge as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the globe, which resulted in temporary closures of Disney\u2019s theme parks and thousands of employees who were either furloughed or laid off.<\/p>\n Prior to handing off the reins to Chapek, Iger served as Disney\u2019s CEO for 15 years from 2005 to 2020, during which time he oversaw the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. He has famously been a well-liked CEO, delaying his departure date multiple times.<\/p>\n Iger\u2019s latest term has included a number of milestones, such as a $60 billion investment in the company\u2019s cruise ships, theme parks and new technologies through 2030, Disney+ reaching streaming profitability, the launch of the ESPN Unlimited streaming service, the sale of Star India to Reliance industries, acquiring full control of Hulu and a majority stake in Fubo and a landmark deal with OpenAI.<\/p>\n But it also included a fair number of challenges, including the Hollywood writers\u2019 and actors\u2019 strike in 2023, a proxy battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz, the failed launch of Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery joint streaming venture Venu Sports, a $16 million legal settlement between ABC News and President Donald Trump, box office struggles and the temporary suspension of ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I came back three years ago, I had a tremendous amount that needed fixing. But anyone who runs a company also knows that it can\u2019t just be about fixing. It has to be preparing a company for its future and really putting place, taking steps to create opportunities for growth,\u201d Iger told analysts during Disney\u2019s first quarter earnings call on Monday. \u201cThe good news is that the company is in much better shape today than it was three years ago, because we have done a lot of fixing, but we\u2019ve also put in place a number of opportunities, including the investment across our experiences business to essentially expand in every location we do business and on the high seas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI also believe that in the world that changes as much as it does that in some form or another, trying to preserve the status quo is a mistake, and I\u2019m certain that my successor will not do that,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo they\u2019ll be handed, I think, a good hand in terms of the strength of the company, a number of opportunities to grow, and also the exhortation that in a world that changes, you also have to continue to change and evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n
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