Disney Likely to Employ True Succession for CEO
According to a recent report, Disney is unlikely to name a successor to Bob Iger this year.
However, your favorite company is leaning toward employing true succession.
The Walt Disney Company
Here’s what we just learned about the race to become the next CEO at the Walt Disney Company.
What We Already Knew
The Walt Disney Company
In January, I wrote my quarterly update on Disney CEO succession.
MickeyBlog is ranking them every three months or so because it’s such a vital topic.
(Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney)
For a decade, Bob Iger resisted the idea of naming a successor.
As a reminder, here’s what happened on the two occasions when he did.
GENE DUNCAN/DISNEY/GETTY IMAGES
Thomas O. Staggs lasted less than a year in his unofficial role as the CEO-in-training.
Staggs “won” a bakeoff with former Disney CFU Jay Rasulo.
(Photo by Matthew Simmons/Getty Images)
His prize was that he faced several months of scrutiny before Disney’s Board of Directors determined he wasn’t up to the challenge.
Meanwhile, Rasulo disappeared and developed enough of a grudge that he has since aligned with Iger’s enemy, Nelson Peltz.
Photo: CNBC
Depending on your perspective, that’s not even the worst outcome.
When Iger finally chose a successor, he picked… Bob Chapek.
Photo: AdWeek
That may have been Disney’s worst disaster since Rocket Rods.
Chapek quickly proved that he wasn’t prepared for the role, as he prioritized finances over customers in a decidedly un-Disney approach.
Photo: Variety
Before Chapek had completed two years on the job, Disney’s board faced an open revolt from other division leaders, who had no choice but to terminate him.
(Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
While everyone championed Iger’s return as a hero riding in on a white horse, the question of succession lingered in everyone’s head.
Would Iger take the subject seriously this time and, more importantly, get it right?
Photo: PRNewsFoto/The Walt Disney Co.
A year later, Iger did himself no favors by… extending his contract until December 2026.
Currently, Peltz is engaged in an activist campaign to push his way onto Disney’s board.
Photo: restorethemagic.com
One of his most pointed criticisms is Disney’s failure with succession.
We update the rankings frequently because the board will eventually make Iger leave.
What Just Happened
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Thanks to a recent Bloomberg report, we gained insights into what the board might do.
Specifically, Disney is locked into the strategy of pure succession.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Presuming the report is accurate, which we never really know with Disney, the Board of Directors has narrowed the list to four potential candidates.
(Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
They are the four internal candidates I mentioned in my last article, which isn’t a surprise.
During Disney’s most recent reorganization, the company selected two chairmen and two co-chairmen to lead the three divisions.
Photo: Dr DIsney
Here’s a refresher on the key names:
- Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro
- ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro
- Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman
- Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden
Photo: Variety
We’d already locked in on these candidates because the reorganization might as well have shined a spotlight on each one.
Even though Walden is technically a co-chairman, I’ve listed her as the favorite, and this report does a good job of explaining why.
Credit: Disney
Disney divides its Entertainment division into television and film.
So, Bergman’s film division suffered through a rough 2023, while Walden’s television side took several victory laps for The Bear and Only Murders in the Building.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
That’s why she can top this list even though she’s only a co-chair, and some parts of Disney Entertainment have struggled recently.
Still, the timing of this short list is intriguing.
Photo: Getty Images
Disney’s board had remained tight-lipped about potential candidates before now.
The company has tactically leaked these details so that current shareholders know a plan is in place for Disney’s succession.
The Walt Disney Company
Specifically, they plan to promote an internal candidate from its list of division heads.
The report goes deeper in suggesting that “Disney may appoint a No. 2 executive – a chief operating officer or president – to serve for a time before Iger steps down.
Disney’s Timeline for True Succession
Photo: Disney
If you were paying attention in 2015, you may have experienced a sense of déjà vu.
On February 5, 2015, Staggs was promoted to the position of chief operating officer as a reward for winning the succession bakeoff. So, yeah.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL ACKER — BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES
However, this is what Disney wants and needs to say to assure investors that succession is top of mind for the company’s Board of Directors.
The Bloomberg report also clarifies that Disney is unlikely to make an announcement in 2024.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company –
DANA WALDEN (CO-CHAIRMAN, DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT), BOB IGER (CEO, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY), ALAN BERGMAN (CO-CHAIRMAN, DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT)
That fits the timeline I suggested in my previous article, where I suggested that Disney would likely name a successor during 2025, probably in the summer.
Image: Disney
In a perfect world, the winner of the currently undeclared bakeoff would become COO or president of Disney soon enough to have a year of on-the-job training with Iger as CEO.
Bob Iger
Then, the long-time Disney executive could gracefully bow out for a second time.
Bloomberg indicates that Iger has taken a hands-on approach with all four internal candidates. His goal is to familiarize them with business units outside their current divisions.
In other words, let’s say that you want Josh D’Amaro to become Disney CEO.
Photo: Disney
You recognize that he primarily has training inside the Parks division. So, Iger is teaching him how Disney Entertainment and ESPN work.
Similarly, Walden, who is approaching her fifth anniversary with the company, can learn more about the Parks division.
Photo: Variety. Dana Walden.
That’s vital for her, as she’s likely unfamiliar with that unit.
Meanwhile, her television experience likely translates for ESPN discussions.
Iger is also coaching Pitaro and Bergman about the inner workings of the other two divisions.
Final Thoughts
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Ultimately, one of these four individuals is likely to be named the next CEO of Disney.
Presumably, they’ll enjoy a better fate than Staggs.
Photographer: Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Like the Bloomberg reporters, I’m skeptical that Disney will do anything during the 2024 calendar year, but that could change if Peltz claims two board seats.
Photo: AFP
The timeline could easily accelerate the process, or new candidates could emerge.
At this moment, the most likely successor to Bob Iger already works in Disney’s C-suite, though.
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