The Walt Disney Company said Josh D’Amaro will be its next chief executive, succeeding Bob Iger, who led the company for most of the past two decades. D’Amaro, currently the chairman of Disney Experiences, the company’s parks and resorts division, will take the reins from Iger on March 18.
Disney’s board of directors unanimously voted for D’Amaro on Monday, the company said in a press release.
“Josh D’Amaro is an exceptional leader and the right person to become our next CEO,” Iger wrote in a statement. “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.”
Iger initially served as chief executive from 2005 until 2020, when he handpicked Bob Chapek — also then the head of the company’s parks division — as his successor. But Chapek’s tenure was rocky and brief, and Iger returned to the CEO role in 2022 for a second stint.
D’Amaro joined Disney in 1998 and rose through the company’s theme park ranks, holding leadership roles at various resorts before being named chairman of the experiences division in 2020, replacing Chapek. The division generated $36 billion in annual revenue in 2025, Disney said.
In a statement, D’Amaro thanked Iger for his leadership and said there is “no limit to what Disney can achieve.”
“I am immensely grateful to the Board for entrusting me with leading a company that means so much to me and millions around the world,” D’Amaro wrote in a statement. “Disney’s strength has always come from our people and the creative excellence that defines our stories and experiences.”
On Tuesday, Disney also announced Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, as president and chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Company. Iger will continue to serve as senior adviser and a member of the Disney board until he retires at the end of this year.
In September, Iger oversaw the brief suspension of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after the comedian made comments in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Disney and network affiliates suspended Kimmel after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr hinted at consequences for the Disney-owned network. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way,” he told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson ahead of the suspension.
Iger drew criticism from some for folding to government pressure, including from former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who posted on X, “Where has all the leadership gone?”
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