The Walt Disney Company has announced Josh D’Amaro has been elected its new chief executive officer by its board of directors. D’Amaro, who is the chairman of Disney Experiences (the division in control of the theme parks, retailing, licensing, publishing, and more), will succeed outgoing CEO Bob Iger during an annual meeting on Wednesday, March 18. Additionally, Dana Walden, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, will become the company’s president and chief creative officer.
Iger, 74, states, “Josh D’Amaro is an exceptional leader and the right person to become our next CEO. 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.”
He says of Walden, “[She] is an excellent leader who commands tremendous respect from the creative community. Given that creativity is at the heart of everything Disney does, she is a wonderful choice to serve in this new leadership role. In the years since Dana joined Disney, she has accumulated great knowledge about the many facets of our businesses and brands, and is very well prepared to be President and Chief Creative Officer.”
Iger, who’ll turn 75 on Tuesday, February 10, will continue to serve as Senior Adviser, and on Disney’s board of directors until his retirement on December 31, 2026. This marks the second time he has handed off the role of Disney’s CEO, having initially served from 2005 to 2020, and then returned in 2022, when his original successor, Bob Chapek, was dismissed after his tenure proved rocky for the company. Chapek, incidentally, was chairman of Disney Experiences before D’Amaro, who at the time served as president of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
D’Amaro, who joined Disney in 1998, states, “[The company]’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.”
Walden, who isn’t quoted in the press release, has served as co-chairman of Disney Entertainment since 2023, where she oversees global streaming and TV releases. Jimmy Kimmel, whose ABC show was temporarily suspended over his comments about the response to Charlie Kirk‘s death last year, has praised Walden’s handling of the situation, saying, “I don’t think the result, which I think turned out to be very positive, would have been as positive if I hadn’t talked to Dana as much as I did, because it helped me think everything through, and it helped me understand where everyone was coming from because I can sometimes be reactionary.”
She will answer directly to D’Amaro, and as CCO of the whole company, will effectively manage the CCOs of its subsidaries, including Marvel’s Kevin Feige, Lucasfilm’s Dave Filoni, Pixar’s Pete Docter, and Disney Animation’s Jared Bush. Suffice to say, it’ll be interesting to see what impact she’ll have on each division’s output.
