The Walt Disney Company announced Tuesday that Josh D’Amaro will become its next chief executive, succeeding Bob Iger. D’Amaro, 54, is set to take over the CEO role in March.
A 28-year Disney veteran, D’Amaro most recently served as chairman of Disney Experiences, where he managed the company’s theme parks, resorts and cruise operations worldwide, including a planned park in Abu Dhabi. Disney’s corporate materials describe him as the architect of the company’s largest global expansion within Disney Experiences, a program valued at roughly $36 billion.
Iger, who returned as CEO in 2022 after previously leading Disney from 2005 to 2020, faced criticism last fall when ABC briefly suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over comments tied to a high-profile killing. After being asked back in 2022 while the company was losing about $1 billion per quarter, Iger is credited with stabilizing Disney through a restructuring that included approximately $5.5 billion in cost reductions and layoffs.
In a company statement, Iger called D’Amaro “the right person” to lead Disney next. Iger will remain on the board and serve as a senior adviser through the end of the year, when he plans to retire.
As CEO, D’Amaro will oversee Disney’s broad entertainment and experiences portfolio, including Disney-branded studios, 20th Century Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, ABC, FX, Hulu, and the company’s parks and resorts. He will also manage strategic partnerships and new initiatives, including a recent licensing agreement with OpenAI’s Sora platform.