Bob Iger Needs a Successor. Who Will It Be?
Here we go! Bob Iger has returned to his role as Disney CEO, and everything seems right in the wide world of Disney.
Still, for all Iger’s remarkable accomplishments, he maintains one significant blemish on his resume.


(Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox Media)
Iger has failed at the game of succession. He feigned retirement several times before he actually left Disney.
Even then, he announced his retirement nearly two years before he left. On a seemingly unrelated note, Iger only signed on for two years during his return engagement.


Photo: Washington Post illustration; Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP; iStock
We’re only a few days into Iger’s return as Disney CEO, yet the clock is already ticking. Iger’s primary mission is to find his replacement.
Who are the top candidates to become Disney’s CEO in two years?

Josh D’Amaro
MickeyBlog has discussed this a few times because it’s true. In terms of pure charisma and Disney spirit, Josh D’Amaro represents the second coming of Bob Iger.
When D’Amaro enters a room, heads turn. The man cannot help but draw focus because he’s so upbeat and engaging.


Photo: Walt Disney Company
Even as Disney raised its theme park prices repeatedly, D’Amaro somehow largely avoided criticism due to his sheer popularity.
D’Amaro is also the rare Chapek lieutenant whom Iger liked. Disney’s current Parks chairman managed to foster strong working relationships with both men.


Photo: Disney
I’m honestly not sure that there are ten people at Disney who can claim that feat. By then, most employees had picked sides.
Even though D’Amaro was Chapek’s guy, the still-employed Disney worker somehow remained above the fray…at least thus far.
We must allow for the possibility that damaging stories could come out at any point about Chapek’s insiders…and D’Amaro was VERY inside.
Still, I’ve watched CNBC analysts praise D’Amaro as the best part of the shaky Chapek regime. On paper, he looks like the ideal candidate to lead Disney.


Photo: D23
The only question is more of a general one. Would Disney seriously consider promoting a current Parks chairman after what just happened with Chapek? I kinda doubt it.
Kevin Mayer
If not for COVID-19, Kevin Mayer would be the current CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Nothing anybody says can ever convince me otherwise.


Photo: CDC
Late in 2019, word spread that Mayer had ascended as the likely successor to Bob Iger.
Mayer had checked all the boxes with the prep work for the launch of Disney+, which has proven wildly successful.
Chapek gets all the credit for that since he’s been CEO for most of the streaming service’s existence. However, it was Mayer’s baby.
Reports have emerged during the past couple of years that Mayer believed he had the job. He’s allegedly informed friends he’d been told it was his.


Photo: TheWrap.com
Then, COVID-19 struck and fundamentally changed the media landscape. Many of Disney’s revenue streams dried up overnight.
A Disney theme park closed in January 2020, and then Iger announced a changing of the guard in February. That timeline shouldn’t be lost on you.


Photo: Rutgers
Iger knew what was coming and decided he wasn’t the person to handle it. Disney’s choices were a top-notch creative type or a skilled moneymaker.
The Board of Directors went with the latter. While I revere Mayer’s acumen as an executive, I can’t say with confidence that he would have done any better as CEO, either.


Disney
At the time, Disney legitimately needed a bean counter. So, Mayer watched someone else take his dream job. He left the company soon afterward.
Since then, Mayer has briefly led TikTok before joining another media company, Candle Media, where he is co-CEO.
By all accounts, Mayer and his partner have dazzled with their performance, turning the unheralded startup into a multi-billion-dollar company.
On paper, Mayer has always looked perfect for this gig. Would he leave Candle Media to come back and prove he should have been the choice all along? Watch this one closely.


Photographer: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney
Peter Rice
Don’t laugh.
Yes, Peter Rice’s tenure at Disney ended ignominiously when Bob Chapek fired him during a seven-minute conversation.


Photo: The Walt Disney Company
In Hollywood, that sort of curt behavior demonstrates epic antagonism. So, why didn’t Chapek like Rice?
Word had leaked that some Disney executives were speaking to Disney’s Board of Directors, sharing their concerns regarding Chapek’s leadership.


Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
On paper, Rice looked like a strong contender to become CEO if Chapek left. So, Disney’s CEO put a dagger in the competition by firing Rice.
However, Rice’s positives remain. He’s a favorite son of Rupert Murdoch, possibly even more than the cantankerous 91-year-old likes his own children.


Photo: The Telegraph
Also, Rice shared a solid working relationship with Iger. On paper, he’s an ideal candidate, as he’s the rare executive with friends on both sides of the political aisle.
Still, could Disney really promote someone to CEO whom the company had previously fired? Even though everyone knows the circumstances, I still kinda doubt it.


PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Thomas Staggs
Everything old is new again at Disney, and history could repeat itself.
Anyone covering Disney a decade ago knows the back story of Thomas Staggs and Bob Iger.


Photo: Getty
At one point, the executives were so close that their families vacationed together.
Staggs famously won a bake-off against then CFO Jay Rasulo and became the presumptive candidate to replace Iger.
Later, Iger soured on his friend as a successor, forcing Staggs to leave the company suddenly. At the time, some analysts pointed out the madness of this situation.


Photo: Getty
Here’s an applicable quote:
“Now they have to get someone better than Staggs. That’s going to be a pretty high bar.”


PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL ACKER — BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
Stating the obvious, Bob Chapek didn’t clear that bar. Disney’s pickiness when things were fine led to preventable problems during a crisis event.
How has Staggs done since he left Disney? Remember how I just mentioned Mayer and Candle Media? Staggs is the other co-CEO…and the founder!


Photo: Candle media
Also, parents should know that Candle owns CoComelon. So yeah, he’s done alright.
Staggs and Iger remained weirdly cordial during his Disney exit, even famously dining together after news came out that he was being forced to leave.
Would Iger acknowledge his mistake here and extend the olive branch to Staggs? If so, would Staggs accept?


Photo: Getty
I’d honestly like to know the answer to these questions. Their relationship is fascinating to me.
Dana Walden
Okay, here’s the hot name to know at the moment. When Chapek fired Rice, Walden took over all his assignments.


Photo: The Walt Disney Company
That didn’t require much of a change since Rice and Walden had worked closely for several years, both with Fox and later Disney.
When Rice left, Walden’s role barely changed. She technically went from Chairman of Entertainment for Disney Television to Disney General Entertainment Content.


Photo: Variety
However, the two were largely interchangeable because they were equally proficient at finding hit programs.
So, if Rice counts as a logical candidate, Walden looks even better on paper. They’ve got the same qualifications, but she has NOT been fired by Disney.


Photo: Variety. Dana Walden.
In fact, when Walden replaced Rice, Deadline ran this article. It posed the question of whether Disney would ever hire a woman as CEO.
The writer ticked off Walden’s qualifications for such a gig, describing her as earning a promotion to “the biggest executive job ever held by a woman at Disney.”


ABC WINTER TCA 2020 Ð Talent and executives enjoy the ABC All-Star Party on Wednesday, January 8, as part of the ABC Winter TCA 2020, at The Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, CA. (ABC/Frank Micelotta)
PETER WEBER, DANA WALDEN (CHAIRMAN, DISNEY TELEVISION STUDIOS AND ABC ENTERTAINMENT)
Frankly, the fact that Disney hasn’t had a female CEO yet is an embarrassment. I say that while knowing that the Chairperson of the Board is female.
Iger is assuredly aware of the perception of such old boys’ club hiring practices.
I’m confident that when the day comes, Walden will prove a strong candidate who is carefully considered. If anything, I might describe her as the leader in the clubhouse.
Bob Iger
You should have known this one was coming. Bob Iger spent 2022 trying to convince himself that he was okay with retirement.


(Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Vox Media)
Reports are already surfacing that Hollywood lunches with him grew uncomfortable since he was so obsessed with Disney.
The man clearly wasn’t ready to let go, which isn’t a surprise to anyone who has followed the past decade of his career.


(Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
Again, Iger’s kryptonite has been implementing a succession plan and sticking with it.
Now that the man knows he doesn’t like retirement and struggled to let Disney go, why should we expect him to leave after two years?


Robert Iger and Rupert Murdoch
credit: Disney
The reality is that he’s 20 years younger than Rupert Murdoch, who still keeps a tight grip on Fox and News Corp.
Iger famously dug Alan Horn out of the trash after Warner Bros. idiotically dumped him for committing the perceived crime of being 69 years old.


Photo: Disney
Horn worked at Disney for a decade and excelled in his role. He’d still be there today at the age of 79 if not for Chapek’s interference.
So, Iger obviously doesn’t view that age as a deterrent for other executives to work in high-level positions at Disney. Why should he view his own situation differently?
Disney’s Board of Directors gave Iger a single imperative: find the next person to lead Disney for the next decade.
I won’t be surprised if Iger selects himself for at least half that time.


Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
In truth, the only change that would move me off the position that Iger is gonna be around for a while is if he brings in someone like Skaggs or Mayer.
If Disney acquires Candle Media, I think it’s a fair bet one of them will be Disney’s next CEO, though. Otherwise, my money’s on Walden followed by D’Amaro.


Photo: MickeyBlog
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Feature Photo: D23