Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro has officially been named The Walt Disney Company’s next Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and will take over the role from Bob Iger on 18 March 2026.
Announced via a post by The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors and its chairman, James Gorman, D’Amaro will take on the new role during an upcoming Annual Meeting held on the same day, and will also be appointed as a director of the board after.
D’Amaro joined the company in 1998 at Disneyland Resort and has took on multiple roles in the 28 years since, notably serving as Chairman of the Disney Experiences segment since 2020, alongside being the President of Walt Disney World Resort prior. Over the years, he oversaw 12 theme parks and 57 resort hotels worldwide, and was “instrumental in expanding Disney’s iconic franchises through the creation of immersive, story-driven experiences” at theme parks such as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the Avengers Campus, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and World of Frozen.
As for current CEO Iger, he will leave behind a long-lasting legacy of almost 20 years as CEO, with the 74-year-old serving the role from 2005 to 2020, before being reinstated in 2022 following the dismissal of then-CEO Bob Chapek. In his time as the company’s head, Iger “spearheaded a strategic transformation of the company, guiding Disney through a period of significant industry disruption and positioning it for long-term growth in this new era of entertainment”, and has provided extensive mentorship to the internal candidates leading up to D’Amaro’s succession. Iger will also continue to serve as Senior Advisor and a member of the Disney Board until his retirement on 31 December 2026.
Concurrent with D’Amaro’s appointment, Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment Dana Walden has also been named President and Chief Creative Officer, and will take on her new role on the same day. As the first female president of the company, she will report to D’Amaro and is tasked with ensuring that “storytelling and creative expression across every audience touchpoint consistently reflect the brand, engage audiences at scale, and advance core business objectives, while driving enterprise-wide initiatives and translating vision into action”.
Looking ahead, D’Amaro’s upcoming projects will include the development of a Monsters, Inc.-themed land at Disney Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort, an Avatar attraction at the Disneyland Resort, and new areas inspired by Cars and Disney Villains as part of the largest-ever expansion of the Magic Kingdom.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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