D’Amaro is next CEO, Walden is next President/CCO

[UmbrellaFish]

The Walt Disney Company announced that Josh D’Amaro will be the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after a unanimous vote held on Monday, February 2.

He will take the position on March 18, 2026. Dana Walden was also a candidate, and she is named the next President & Chief Creative Officer.

“Josh D’Amaro possesses that rare combination of inspiring leadership and innovation, a keen eye for strategic growth opportunities, and a deep passion for the Disney brand and its people – all of which make him the right person to take the helm as Disney’s next CEO,” said James Gorman, Chairman of The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors. “Throughout this search process, Josh has demonstrated a strong vision for the company’s future and a deep understanding of the creative spirit that makes Disney unique in an ever-changing marketplace. He has an outstanding record of business achievement, collaborating with some of the biggest names in entertainment to bring their stories to life in our parks, showcasing the power of combining Disney storytelling with cutting-edge technology. The Board believes he is exceptionally well prepared to guide this global company forward to serve our consumers around the world and create long-term value for shareholders.”

“Josh D’Amaro is an exceptional leader and the right person to become our next CEO,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “He has an instinctive appreciation of the Disney brand, and a deep understanding of what resonates with our audiences, paired with the rigor and attention to detail required to deliver some of our most ambitious projects. His ability to combine creativity with operational excellence is exemplary and I am thrilled for Josh and the company.”

“I am immensely grateful to the Board for entrusting me with leading a company that means so much to me and millions around the world,” said Josh D’Amaro, incoming CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “Disney’s strength has always come from our people and the creative excellence that defines our stories and experiences. There is no limit to what Disney can achieve, and I am excited to work with our teams across the company and brilliant creative partners to honor Disney’s remarkable legacy while continuing to innovate, grow, and deliver exceptional value for our consumers and shareholders. I also want to express my gratitude to Bob Iger for his generous mentorship, his friendship, and the profound impact of his leadership.”

D’Amaro graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University in 1993. He worked in the finance department of the Gillette Company before joining Disney in 1998.

Until 2008, he was vice president of sales and travel trade marketing. He was also director of business planning and strategy development from 2005 to 2006. He became chief financial officer of Disney Consumer Products Licensing in 2008.

In 2010, D’Amaro was promoted to VP of Adventures by Disney. From 2013 to 2014, he was VP of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, overseeing initial construction of Pandora – The World of Avatar. He then became senior vice president of Walt Disney World’s Resort & Transportation Operations in September 2014 and remained in that position until February 2017.

Later that year, he became chief creative officer of Walt Disney World. In 2018, he moved to California, where he was president of Disneyland Park for a year and a half. He then returned to Florida as president of Walt Disney World.

When Bob Chapek was promoted from Disney Experiences chairperson to CEO of Disney, D’Amaro took over Chapek’s position. He has remained head of Disney Experiences for almost six years, overseeing management of all six Disney resorts and Disney Cruise Line, including 12 theme parks, 57 resort hotels, the upcoming Disneyland Abu Dhabi, and eight cruise ships (and more on the way), as well as Disney Consumer Products, Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Disney Institute, and Storyliving by Disney. He leads the worldwide team of 185,000 cast members.

During his tenure as chairperson, Avengers Campus opened at Disney California Adventure, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway debuted at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Tokyo DisneySea expanded with the acclaimed Fantasy Springs, multiple World of Frozen lands have been developed, a Zootopia land opened at Shanghai Disneyland, Walt Disney Studios Park was transformed into Disney Adventure World, and new areas inspired by Cars and Disney Villains were announced as part of the largest-ever expansion to Magic Kingdom.

D’Amaro joined the Make-A-Wish America board of directors in 2023. He is also a member of the United States Travel Association Leadership Roundtable.

https://wdwnt.com/2026/02/josh-damaro-i ... -next-ceo/

[PatchofBlue]

Will be interesting to see what exactly they mean by his "deep passion for the Disney brand and its people." Is that the usual PR talk, or did they actually finally hire a Disney adult?

Either way ...

[UmbrellaFish]

(Didn’t realize this post went through. I’m having major lag issues with the site today)

[Farerb]

The next CEO...and the last....

[Sotiris]

The next CEO...and the last....

Why do you say that? Do you think Disney is going to be sold to Apple or something?

[Farerb]

Why do you say that? Do you think Disney is going to be sold to Apple or something?

Yes, I think Disney will have the same fate as WB eventually.

[Kyle]

Ridiculous take there.

Disney has layers and layers of safety nets. they could survive many years of flops if it came to it.

[PatchofBlue]

Mice Chat offered this useful overview.

Disney’s Succession Gamble: Is Josh D’Amaro Ready to Lead After Iger?
https://www.micechat.com/431313-josh-da ... A5nlaVEgfQ

Under D’Amaro’s leadership, Disney’s parks have undeniably become bigger, more profitable, and more capacity-driven. At the same time, the guest experience has increasingly shifted from spontaneous exploration to something that must be carefully planned months in advance, optimized through apps, and often supplemented with upcharges just to access what once felt basic. Live entertainment has been pared back, especially at Disneyland, replaced by systems designed to manage flow and revenue rather than delight.

I'd blamed Chapek for the decline in park quality as it relates to like sloppier attractions, but I guess I can see how D'Amaro would have contributed to making the parks more app-based. Last year's visit was my first time using "Lightning Lane," which I learned to work around but never totally warmed up to, and I'm also just against the idea of having to effectively charge guests twice--once to get into the park and again to actually get on the rides in a timely manner. Though I seem to remember that Iger also tried similar projects with like Magic Pass.

(Didn’t realize this post went through. I’m having major lag issues with the site today)

I've had similar issues lately.

[reee9948]

I don't have high hopes about D'Amaro and Walden to be honest. All these people always make false promises such saying they are going to bring 2d back, and bring back quality movies, but they never deliver. Of course I hope to be proven wrong, but given their recent streak, I'm right to not have faith in Disney.

[Sotiris]

This is a co-CEO structure in everything but name. It's clear D'Amaro will be overseeing the theme park side and Walden the movie and TV side. I doubt D'Amaro will have any say on Disney's creative output. So, basically it will be more of the same at both the theme park and the storytelling front, but with an even bigger focus on AI.

Walden will be the main decision-maker on the content that Disney produces.

Source: https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/disne ... 236651685/

D’Amaro stated that the age of artificial intelligence “is here,” and shared how the company has embraced it. “You’re seeing it supercharge these creatives in amazing ways,” he continued. “And they have embraced artificial intelligence. If you were to walk over to their studios today, you'd see them using AI. This is when the Walt Disney Company thrives, when technology intersects with brilliant people and creativity, and we’re in that moment right now.”

Source: https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/b ... ai-disney/

[Disney's Divinity]

Don't know them, so not sure what to make of any of it. I did feel there were some differences under Chapek (releases of the Rapunzel, Proud Family, and Chip n Dale series, or the Disney Princess line becoming more faithful to the characters, and doing more with them--allowing interactions, for example) even though he was only there for a hot second, but I'm not sure I expect much difference here.... With the remakes specifically, I just hope a new CEO won't have to re-learn the lessons of Mulan/TLM/Snow White since they had finally started getting back on track with L&S, Moana, and Tangled being done properly.

Hopefully they at least continue with 4K releases like the SB, Alice, and PP that are rumored to be on the way. As a side bar, I was thinking how much I wish they'd put out TLM with a 4K steelbook of the original poster whenever it comes around again, that would be gorgeous. And I'd love to have some of the old shows put on Blu-ray though (Aladdin, TLM, Hercules, Gummi Bears, the two Dalmatians series, New Adventures of WtP, etc.), but that only happened during Chapek's brief moment there. Still hate that the DMC is gone, too, not sure there's any way to revive it in a new form. New Legacy Collection soundtrack releases (Hercules, Mulan, Bedknobs & Broomsticks, Snow White, The Sword in the Stone, etc.). Speaking of, please let TSitS get the Disney+ transfer released to home media eventually. Not to mention other streaming-only things that I wish would get a release--the Howard doc, the Pinocchio remake, the Hillary docuseries, Hocus Pocus 2, and so on.

Folding PIXAR into WDAS to keep producing any sequels to their IP, but it's not like they need two animation studios with struggling original content. Then they probably would be better off moving the parks elsewhere, somewhere like VA or something, partly not to deal with crazy politicians and partly because of climate change issues in the future. But that's a very long-range kind of thing, and they're working on making (and keeping) streaming profitable, I expect.

[Sotiris]

New interview with Michel Eisner where he talks about Disney succession and the company's future, among other things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVNUaa4AbpU