With Iger stepping back, Disney elevates Josh D’Amaro to CEO and Dana Walden to chief creative officer in dual-power shift.
Josh D’Amaro has been appointed chief executive of The Walt Disney Company, ending a years-long effort to choose a successor to Bob Iger, the architect of Disney’s modern expansion across film, television, and streaming. D’Amaro has served since 2020 as chairman of Disney Experiences, the famed studio’s theme‑park and travel business.
In parallel, Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden, who was also a candidate for the CEO post, was elevated to president and chief creative officer, a newly created role. Both executives will step into their new positions on March 18, when the company is scheduled to hold its annual meeting.
“As chairman of Disney Experiences, D’Amaro has proven himself a strong businessman, but also a leader who is trusted, accessible, even beloved,” says Peter Kunze, assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Tulane University and author of Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood, and the Disney Renaissance. “These qualities are important for a company whose CEO is often publicly understood as the guardian of a storied legacy. His promotion can be read somewhat symbolically as Disney’s belief that Experiences will be central to the future of the company, as it has been in the past.”
Yet, D’Amaro’s experience in screen storytelling is limited at best, Kunze adds: “Therefore, we cannot underestimate the ascension of Walden to president and chief creative officer, which acknowledges the essential interconnections between Disney’s theme parks and resorts along with its efforts in film, television, and streaming.”
While there has long been public speculation whether Disney would go with D’Amaro or Walden for the top job, in practice, the company opted for something closer to having two successors rather than just one, with Iger staying on as a senior adviser and board member through the end of 2026 to ensure a smooth handoff.
“Their shared promotions call to mind the complementary hiring of Michael Eisner from Paramount and Frank Wells from Warner Bros. in 1984,” Kunze observes. “Eisner brought the creative expertise, Wells the operational acumen.”
Four decades on, Disney is a global media conglomerate navigating the challenges posed by streaming and now generative AI. “Still, the nearly unique challenges of running Disney remain the same,” Kunze says, “fiercely protecting a cherished—and lucrative—brand through a strong understanding of storytelling across media and platforms as well as time and space.”
