Who Will Be Disney’s Next CEO? Place Your Bets!

Bob Iger has spent the last decade of his life deciding who will follow him as CEO.

Disney’s current leader even chose someone once, although we talk about that less than Bruno.

The thought of legitimate Disney succession has grown so ridiculous that a losing candidate from ten years ago (!) just returned.

The even more absurd thought is that this individual has an admittedly unlikely path to become the next head of Disney.

We’re through the looking glass, people. That’s why I’m leaning into the chaos with a new set of Disney CEO Power Rankings.

7) Jay Rasulo

Don’t laugh. Okay, maybe giggle a little…

Ten years ago, Jay Rasulo famously lost a bake-off, an internal Disney competition to determine who would succeed Bob Iger.

While everyone said kind things about one another at the time, the reality is that Rasulo lost. Then, he vanished.

Nobody heard anything from this guy for many years. Then, his name randomly popped up again in the strangest way.

Nelson Peltz and Isaac Perlmutter are currently trying to force their way onto Disney’s Board of Directors.

Well, Perlmutter technically won’t hold a position. Instead, he’ll ask his underling to function as his eyes and ears.

Would you like to guess who this villain’s sidekick is? No, it’s not someone as lovable as Kronk. It’s Jay Rasulo.

Perlmutter always admired the way that Rasulo prioritized money over people during his tenure as Disney CFO.

So, there’s a path to victory for the trio here. The odds are about the same as winning the lottery twice in a week, though.

Peltz would need for Disney investors to vote him and Rasulo onto the Disney Board against the advice of the Disney Board.

Then, they would need to swing six votes from 13 other people who despise them.

Should that happen, Iger would be out, and Rasulo would be in.

Stranger things have happened…but not many.

6) Andrew Wilson

Here’s a recent wild card addition that bears at least cursory evaluation.

You may not know Andrew Wilson by his decidedly nondescript name, but he’s already a successful CEO.

Wilson heads EA, which means you love him if you’re an investor and absolutely despise him if you’re a gamer.

When Wilson became EA’s CEO in 2013, the stock price fluctuated around $27. As I type this, it’s at $136.

So, there’s the guy’s primary appeal to many. He’s proven he can maximize a company’s investments.

I’d be remiss if I ignored how he’s done it, though. Read a review of any EA sports game, the backbone of the company.

Independent of the sport, the review will suggest that the game was better ten years ago, and it’s largely pay-to-play now.

If Disney fans didn’t like Bob Chapek, the thought of Andrew Wilson as CEO should terrify them.

Why does the candidate make sense? Well, Disney has made no secret of its desire to return to gaming.

This business has caused Disney innumerable setbacks in the past, but the impending arrival of the Apple Vision Pro could change everything.

If augmented reality becomes a thing, Disney characters should dominate, giving the company a new way to monetize its brands.

Do you know who is excellent at that? The dude who has ruined John Madden Football.

5) Jimmy Pitaro

I’m including Pitaro again this time and even bumping him up a bit. I’ve chosen this path despite several recent ESPN hiccups.

We’ve covered the Pat McAfee nonsense, which I detail in Disney Headlines and Justin Hermes previously covered here.

Pitaro has become notorious inside Disney for his desire to solve ESPN battles behind closed doors.

McAfee has proven to be a wild card, but that one’s on Iger, who specifically pitched the idea of the podcaster joining ESPN.

Meanwhile, Iger’s other big idea for ESPN involved a shared contract with the NFL.

Iger desired a deal wherein the NFL owned a stake in ESPN.

In exchange, the league would provide Disney with licensing rights to games.

We don’t have that deal yet, but it’s reportedly in the advanced stages.

While I’m skeptical how much Pitaro had to do with the deal relative to Iger and someone else we’re about to discuss, it doesn’t matter.

The head of ESPN should get some credit for negotiating that deal.

Still, the primary reason I doubt Pitaro will become Disney CEO is because I view his likeliest career paths as an ESPN spinoff or a poaching.

There’s unconscionable amounts of money in sports today.

Someone might throw Pitaro a bag to lure him from ESPN.

4) Alan Bergman

As I’ve previously mentioned, Disney has streamlined to three main divisions, each of which has a Chairman.

By definition, the people holding the Chairman title appear to be on the short list of candidates to succeed Iger as CEO.

I view two of the options as serious candidates and two as, in awards season terms, “it’s an honor just to be nominated.”

Bergman is technically Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, which sounds great in theory.

In practice, Bergman’s team spent the entirety of 2023 on the defensive because their film releases struggled.

Disney would have a hard time promoting the people responsible for those films, right? Yeah, it’s a problem.

3) Kevin Mayer and/or Thomas Staggs

I’ve spoken at length about both individuals and wrote this article about Mayer a little over four years ago.

Since then, Mayer has randomly lost the job to an inferior candidate, left Disney, joined TikTok, left TikTok, and other stuff.

Specifically, Mayer joined forces with Thomas Staggs at Candle Media.

Remember how I mentioned Jay Rasulo lost a bake-off to replace Iger a decade ago? Staggs “won” that bake-off.

As fate would have it, the winning prize was a miserable year, the alienation of Disney’s Board, and a humiliating exit from Disney.

To his credit, Staggs got off the deck and found a new path toward relevance in the media era.

Staggs developed business relationships and persuaded investors to trust him in building a mini-Disney startup.

How well has Staggs done? Well, the dude owns Cocomelon. If you know, you know.

Along the way, Staggs also assisted Mayer after the latter individual suffered a similar Disney fate.

So, they’re birds of a feather, and I tend to view them as a duo now.

A few months ago, Iger recently asked both to advise on upcoming Disney deals. I mean multi-billion-dollar ones.

Iger still trusts both people, and I guess they still answer his calls even though he stabbed each of them in the back.

I don’t claim to understand the dynamic, but Iger trained both people to replace him as Disney CEO.

You may wonder why proven CEOs with Disney ties like them don’t place higher on the list.

Here’s the dry, blunt answer. Candle Media’s finances are currently a mess.

Iger would face a hard sale in trying to convince anybody right now that Mayer and Staggs are flawless candidates.

2) Josh D’Amaro

I previously argued in favor of Josh D’Amaro as Disney CEO.

I reserve the right to change my mind at a later date if new information arises.

Until then, I’ll just rest my case on D’Amaro. He’s the closest thing to Walt Disney we have in Disney’s C-suite.

For that reason alone, D’Amaro should be the choice, in my opinion.

However, I think another candidate is currently ahead of him in this race to become Disney CEO.

1) Dana Walden

Do you remember what I said earlier about Alan Bergman? Everything applies to Dana Walden as well.

Walden is the other Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, which means she takes half the blame for the company’s film struggles.

However, we’re only telling part of the story when we say that.

Disney just dominated the Emmy Awards with 37 victories. It has similarly excelled at several other awards ceremonies.

Disney Entertainment isn’t confined to movie theaters. In truth, that was never the case in the 21^st century, only the perception.

Walden proved to be one of the few executives from the former Fox businesses who successfully transitioned to Disney.

Since then, her career has soared to even greater heights.

She has capably used the FX strategy of high-level content to maintain viewer loyalty during a time of industry upheaval.

The two lived close enough to grab lunch and talk Disney gossip.

When Disney plotted Iger’s return, it was Walden who broached the subject with him.

Trust matters in CEO succession, and Walden has earned Iger’s.

Again, I’d pick D’Amaro first and Mayer second, but she’d be my third-favorite candidate.

I fully understand why Disney might pick her.

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Feature (Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney)