For Disney's board, a meticulous CEO handoff -- not 'a rigged game' -- was the imperative

Casual speech successful Hollywood often drifted to a acquainted question: ‘Will Bob widen his declaration again?’

Walt Disney Co.’s committee had initially acceptable Chief Executive Bob Iger’s people status day for 2015. The committee alternatively renewed his declaration aggregate times, past called him backmost successful 2022 — astir a twelvemonth aft helium had retired — erstwhile the past enactment handoff famously unraveled.

Disney’s struggles with succession implicit the decades person go epic dramas filled with mendacious starts, larger-than-life leaders reticent to spell and allegations of hollow searches for a caller CEO. Twenty-plus years ago, 1 campaigner for the apical occupation — erstwhile Ebay and Hewlett-Packard main Meg Whitman — withdrew from the running, suggesting the hole was in.

Disney’s committee astatine the clip wanted to springiness Iger, a longtime ABC enforcement who had toiled years successful the shadiness of erstwhile Chief Executive Michael Eisner, a shot.

With each that history, Disney’s committee recognized its imperative of choreographing a meticulous transition. Iger, 74, was acceptable to go, and the process to find his successor was definite to spell nether the microscope.

“We had to beryllium unfastened — we couldn’t beryllium questioned connected it,” Disney Chairman James Gorman told The Times successful an interrogation to shed airy connected what, until this week, had been a intimately guarded boardroom process. “We didn’t conscionable privation to person this arsenic a rigged game.”

This week, Disney’s committee unanimously approved the enactment of 54-year-old parks main Josh D’Amaro to win Iger connected March 18 erstwhile the institution holds its yearly gathering with shareholders. The power volition people the extremity of an era, arsenic Iger has been a towering beingness successful Hollywood for much than 20 years.

Two years of readying led up to D’Amaro’s selection. When Iger’s past successor, Bob Chapek, was ousted successful November 2022, Disney’s committee announced that Iger would instrumentality to service arsenic CEO for conscionable 2 years.

But a bid of high-level enforcement departures had thinned Disney’s enforcement bench. The committee aboriginal acknowledged it needed further clip to program succession and Iger’s declaration was extended again, this clip to December 2026.

Disney Chairman James Gorman, erstwhile president of Morgan Stanley, led the succession hunt that culminated this week.

(Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Gorman — a erstwhile president and main enforcement of Morgan Stanley — joined Disney’s committee successful the autumn of 2024. He became president successful January 2025 and succession readying began successful earnest. Unlike successful aboriginal 2020, erstwhile Iger was successful complaint of the committee that tapped Chapek, this clip the committee formed a succession committee comprised existent and erstwhile CEOs of antithetic firms.

The committee, led by Gorman, included General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra, erstwhile CEO of Lululemon Athletica Calvin McDonald; and the erstwhile caput of Britain’s Sky broadcasting, Sir Jeremy Darroch.

The hunt began with a database of astir 100 imaginable candidates, Gorman said, including names provided by hunt steadfast Heidrick & Struggles. The radical yet culled the database to 30, helium said, past narrowed it adjacent more. They met with a fewer outsiders.

“We wanted to spot what was retired determination ... but it’s ever hard to spell extracurricular for immoderate company,” Gorman said, adding that typically happens during a crisis, specified arsenic an abrupt CEO status owed to unwellness oregon immoderate different unforeseen event.

“You don’t instrumentality idiosyncratic from the industrials satellite and plop them successful a media company,” helium said. “That’s conscionable excessively large a lift.”

Increasing the challenge, the 102-year-old institution has a chiseled firm civilization — 1 that inactive pays homage to laminitis Walt and instills successful its employees (known internally arsenic formed members) the request to service arsenic guardians of Disney’s treasured characters and brands.

Any extracurricular prime would person been a risky bet.

Four Disney executives were nether evaluation. D’Amaro, tv and streaming main Dana Walden, movie main Alan Bergman and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro were each viewed arsenic contenders for the job.

The committee spent months sizing up strengths and weaknesses of outer and interior candidates. Candidates made presentations to the board, laid retired their visions for Disney’s future, received mentoring from Iger and spent hours gathering with Gorman and different succession committee members arsenic good arsenic the afloat board.

Hopefuls were grilled connected their visions for the company. They were quizzed astir specified topics arsenic teamwork and firm culture.

“We wanted to cognize that whomever we picked bushed each comers,” Gorman said. “And our radical stress-tested unbelievably well. Yes, the [Disney executives] were fixed a immense vantage due to the fact that they recognize the culture, it’s a precise unsocial culture, but it wasn’t conscionable that.

“They were susceptible and they were ready,” Gorman said.

The committee progressively became comfy with D’Amaro — who joined the institution 28 years agone successful Disneyland’s accounting division. For the past six years, D’Amaro has tally Disney’s parks and experiences division, which present is the company’s largest concern portion amid the diminution of accepted television.

Walt Disney Co.’s committee named Josh D’Amaro, right, arsenic the caller main enforcement officer. Dana Walden, left, who is Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment volition measurement into the relation arsenic president and main originative officer.

(Walt Disney Company)

The committee besides carved retired a caller relation arsenic president and main originative serviceman for longtime tv enforcement Dana Walden, 61, who becomes the archetypal pistillate to service arsenic Disney’s president.

Gorman said Walden, 61, was impressive.

“She’s a beardown leader. She’s decisive. She’s got large originative chops,” Gorman said. “She’s worked good with Alan Bergman arsenic co-chair of entertainment. The thought is to guarantee we bring creativity to each parts of the institution and successful each corners of the world.”

“A caller CEO is massively postively enabled by having their team, if they’re capable,” Gorman said. “And we are blessed with [our team] successful place.”