The Walt Disney Company has completed one of the most closely watched leadership transitions in corporate America, installing Josh D’Amaro as chief executive effective March 18. D’Amaro, who most recently ran Disney Experiences, the parks, cruises and consumer products unit that generated roughly $36 billion in revenue last fiscal year, takes over from Bob Iger after a search process the board had been quietly assembling for years. Dana Walden, previously co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, was elevated alongside him into a newly created role as president and chief creative officer, signaling that the company intends to split creative and operational leadership going forward.
D’Amaro’s ascent was built almost entirely inside Disney’s own ranks. He joined the company in 1998 at Disneyland Resort and spent nearly three decades moving through finance, marketing, strategy and operations roles before eventually running both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. He took charge of the parks division in 2020, steering it through pandemic-era closures and into a period of record profitability, a track record that made him the board’s clear front-runner well before the announcement became official.
The succession itself followed a deliberately cautious path after Disney’s last attempt ended badly. The board’s succession planning committee had been evaluating internal and external candidates for years, a process that gained new structure once James Gorman took over as board chairman in late 2024 and pushed to have a successor named by early 2026. That caution traced directly back to the company’s 2020 handoff to Bob Chapek, which the board reversed after less than three years, returning Iger to the corner office in 2022 amid steep losses at Disney’s streaming business and turmoil at ESPN. This time, directors emphasized a longer runway of mentorship, coaching and board exposure for both D’Amaro and Walden before making a final call.
Iger, who is stepping down as CEO but not disappearing entirely, will remain with Disney as a senior advisor and board member through the end of 2026 to help steady the handoff. For D’Amaro, the challenge now shifts from running a single division to overseeing a sprawling portfolio spanning streaming, linear television, sports and studios, all while investors watch closely for signs that Disney’s board has finally found a durable answer to the succession problem that has dogged it for years.