Bob Iger is Back!!!

[Sotiris]

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.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/disn ... o-f571257c

[PatchofBlue]

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.

Wasn't she also on the committee that pulled the plug?

[Sotiris]

The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI Reach Landmark Agreement to Bring Beloved Characters from Across Disney’s Brands to Sora
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney ... agreement/

Why Disney Is Betting $1 Billion on OpenAI as Tech Wars Escalate
https://www.thewrap.com/why-disney-is-b ... -analysis/

Bob Iger Insists $1 Billion OpenAI Deal Is Not a Threat to Disney Creators, Voice Actors
https://www.thewrap.com/disney-openai-s ... tman-cnbc/

Dana Walden Says Disney Will Approach Its Use of AI Together With Filmmakers and Actors
https://www.thewrap.com/dana-walden-dis ... creatives/

Why Disney’s Sora Deal Marks a Turning Point in the AI Wars
https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/d ... 236611940/

Disney’s OpenAI Deal: Soulless Exploitation Or Necessary Innovation? Former Mouse House Animators Have Thoughts
https://deadline.com/2025/12/disney-ope ... 236651227/

How Disney’s OpenAI Deal Changes Everything
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/busin ... 236456928/

[Farerb]

The real Disney company died when Roy Disney died.

[Sotiris]

Bob Iger Warns Netflix Purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery Gives Streamer ‘Pricing Leverage’
https://www.thewrap.com/disney-bob-iger ... paramount/

[Sotiris]

Ayaz, 47 years old, isn’t a likely candidate to replace Iger, but is widely viewed as a potential “next next” CEO.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/disn ... g-de165847

[Sotiris]

Disney to Continue Investing in China, Bob Iger Says
https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/b ... nvestment/

[Kyle]

This company will never get its groove back as long as it continues prioritizing china.

[Sotiris]

Bob Iger’s 2025 Pay Rises to $45.8 Million as Disney Board Reaffirms That Succession Is Imminent
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/busin ... 236482013/

[Sotiris]

Disney succession: Inside the search for a CEO to replace Bob Iger
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-a ... at-to-know

Can Josh D’Amaro Break Disney’s Succession Curse?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/busi ... y-ceo.html

Disney Is Close to Picking Parks Chief D’Amaro as Next CEO
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... s-next-ceo

Iger Has Told Associates He Plans to Leave CEO Role Before Contract Expires
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/iger ... s-35406a7b

[Disney's Divinity]

I'll believe he's leaving when it happens. He only left the first time because he had political aspirations, and when that (as anyone could've guessed) didn't pan out, he quickly undid Chapek and got his job back.

I don't feel any particular way about it all. Admittedly, it did feel for a moment while he was out that the company was listening to fans more. But I mean, they've done away with the DMC, so the likelihood of even more niche releases is nil now no matter who's in charge. And everything else (franchising, sequels, remakes, etc.) will continue whether he's there or not.

I still hope they simply fold PIXAR under WDAS and simply make them a subdivision that produces any further sequels / offshoots to PIXAR IP. WDAS has the longer history, its original films are the highest on the highest-grossing animated list (Frozen, Zootopia, TLK), it should have two franchises in the highest-grossing trilogies soon (Frozen, Zootopia), and the last original film between either studio that made much of a mark on the zeitgeist was Encanto, so... Plus, WDAS has returned from dark times multiple times, so it's easy to look at the past for clues how to revive, whereas PIXAR is still a question mark now they've entered their first dark period.

[Kyle]

Nah, the two should stay mostly separate, they have different cultures with their own pros and cons. We need that diversity.

[PatchofBlue]

Disney Beats Wall Street Earnings Estimates as Succession Looms
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/busin ... 236491770/

“I think what is noteworthy is that when 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’t just be about fixing. It has to be about preparing a company for its future and really putting in place, taking steps to create opportunities for growth so well,” Iger told the analysts. “The 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’ve also put in place a number of opportunities, including the investment across our experiences business to essentially expand at every location that we do business and on the high seas.”


“I also believe that in a 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’m certain that my successor will not do that,” Iger added. “So they’ll be handed, I think, a good hand in terms of the strength of the company, a number of opportunities to grow and and also the exhortation that in a world that changes you also have to continue to change and evolve as well.”