Disney’s board of directors has said it would announce in early 2026 its pick to succeed Iger. The company is widely expected to promote from within, with parks chief Josh D’Amaro and television head Dana Walden considered the leading contenders by employees and people who work with Disney. The two executives met with Disney’s board this summer in Orlando, Fla., to discuss their visions for the company should they become CEO, according to people with knowledge of the meeting.
Whoever is named as the next CEO is expected to work alongside Iger for a while to learn the ropes before officially taking over, according to a person familiar with the board’s thinking. Iger’s contract expires next December.
D’Amaro, who chairs Disney’s experiences unit that includes theme parks, consumer products, cruise ships and videogames, is widely considered the leading contender to be the next CEO. His strongest rival is Walden, a veteran television executive who is co-chair of Disney entertainment, which includes streaming. Supporters of D’Amaro say he is analytical, comfortable talking to Hollywood talent who’ve collaborated with the parks and a charismatic public ambassador for the Disney brand. D’Amaro’s vision for Disney’s future includes giving videogames a bigger role at the company and integrating gaming technology throughout its creative processes, said a person familiar with his thinking. The Experiences boss, who has been with Disney since 1998, championed a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games last year and has overseen the relationship with the “Fortnite” maker.
Walden is less of a Disney native, having joined when it acquired the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox in 2019. But her backers say she is the company’s most experienced and accomplished creative executive. Hit film and TV content, they say, is the engine that powers all of Disney’s businesses. She shares oversight of streaming and helped manage that business’s improving profit margins. She also has experience managing some of the company’s most delicate and important commercial and creative relationships, from the recent carriage dispute with YouTube TV to September’s benching and reinstatement of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
Veteran film executive Alan Bergman, who runs streaming with Walden and oversees brands such as Pixar, Lucasfilm and Avatar, is considered unlikely to replace Iger by employees and company partners.
ESPN head Jimmy Pitaro, Disney’s other top operating executive, has expressed he is in his “dream job” and doesn’t expect to become CEO given his lack of experience in scripted entertainment and parks, according to people with knowledge of the matter. His contract has multiple years left on it, according to one of the people.
Many employees have aligned behind-the-scenes with D’Amaro or Walden, but no candidate wants to be seen as engaging in politicking, said people close to the company. Even so, every move and public appearance by senior executives is interpreted through the lens of how they may be positioning themselves for a post-Iger world.
The board hasn’t said whether it might consider appointing co-CEOs. Disney has never had multiple leaders before, though it has at times had a CEO working alongside a powerful deputy—another possibility in the post-Iger configuration.
