The Knives Come Out for Dana Walden
At this point, the open secret at The Walt Disney Company is that two people have separated themselves from the pack.
In the race to replace Bob Iger as Disney CEO, Dana Walden has emerged in the pole position.
Photo: Deadline
Right behind her in the race is Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro, whom many consider a co-favorite.
While ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro remains in the discussion, the other candidate, Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, has fallen back a bit.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
So, the perception I discussed the other day remains that Walden will ultimately succeed Iger as head of Disney.
But life comes at you fast. A few hours after MickeyBlog published that piece, the espionage campaign against Walden began in earnest.
Holywood Reporter PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANA KING
Yes, the knives have come out for Dana Walden. Here’s what just happened and what it means.
Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies…
Walt Disney Company
Dana Walden joined Disney in 2019 as part of the company’s acquisition of Fox’s media assets.
In that turnover, virtually all Fox executives lost their jobs, as Disney didn’t think they’d translate well in the new corporate structure.
Fox
Fair or not, the perception of Fox is that it’s a viper pit where skullduggery leads to career success.
The people at the top of the food chain there have backstabbed their way to the top.
Photo: Disney
At Disney, a kinder methodology is in place, although you’ll definitely hear a few horror stories if you ask around enough.
People are people, and even the best of us aren’t above taking a shortcut or getting our hands a bit dirty at times.
JON KOPALOFF/GETTY IMAGES
You should keep that in mind as you read the rest of this piece, which frankly reflects poorly on the leaker, not Walden.
Long story short, some former Disney executive just attempted to perform a hit-and-run.
Presumably, the unnamed individual tried to disrupt the impending succession for one of two reasons.
The first is that they’re a friend of D’Amaro, Pitaro, or Bergman and want to aid them by attacking Walden.
Photo: Disney
Another possibility, probably even the likeliest one, is that it’s a disgruntled former employee harboring a grudge against Walden/Disney.
You should draw your own conclusions, but I must stress that I consider all this bush league and soap operatic.
Disney
There’s also an accelerated timeline at play because Disney just announced that James Gorman would head the Succession Planning Committee.
That’s the Disney Board of Directors indicating that its succession process has entered the endgame.
Photo by Phil Faraone/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
Thus, anyone working against Walden’s interests or in favor of someone else’s must work quickly. They’re on the clock now.
Thomas O. Staggs: The Sequel
Photo: Disney
According to a paywalled article on Puck, “only Walden and D’Amaro are broadly seen as leading candidates for the position.”
The article describes Pitaro as a distant third, with Bergman largely a non-factor.
Photo by Amy Sussman/WireImage
MickeyBlog has been telling you all that for ages, although I’ll reiterate what I said the other day.
Sometimes, the last thing you want to be is the leader in the clubhouse. You can ask Thomas O. Staggs if you don’t believe me.
Photo: Getty
Staggs infamously won a bakeoff against former Disney executive Jay Rasulo to succeed Iger.
You don’t remember the Staggs era at Disney because it never happened.
GENE DUNCAN/DISNEY/GETTY IMAGES
After roughly a year of Staggs trying to prove to Disney’s Board of Directors that he deserved the job, the executive left the company.
That wasn’t Disney’s finest moment, and one of the ripple effects was that Bob Chapek eventually became CEO.
Photo: Disney
I think we can all agree that no matter how much Staggs might have struggled during his early days, it would have been better than what Chapek did.
The point is that once you become the perceived favorite, the knives come out as others attempt to undermine your candidacy.
The Walden Onslaught
Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage
We’ve officially entered that phase with Walden, who honestly should take this as a compliment.
She probably would if it weren’t so insulting. Here’s the accusation.
Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images
An unnamed “Disney veteran states, “In my circles, everyone is resigned to Dana getting the job.
“No one disputes her TV bona fides or her style and polish, but no one believes she is capable of running a 225,000-person global business with such a complex set of strategic problems.”
Photo: Variety
The “no one” part of that quote infuriates me, as it’s exactly the sort of counterproductive hyperbole that undoes an argument.
I’m confident that any number of Walden’s co-workers believe she’s fully capable of such a task.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Based on my vetting of her candidacy, I suspect it’s the vast majority of them. My editorializing aside, the Walden critic continues: “Many see Bob falling for Dana the way he fell for Chapek.”
They add the context that Iger is “seeing what he wants to see—not tolerating dissent or criticism—and not actively looking for feedback.”
In other words, this executive feels that Iger has already made up his mind on the subject.
What about Two Leaders?
Photo: Orlando Sentinel
The article teases the possibility of something I’ve posited in the past.
Disney might also adopt a co-CEO structure with Walden and D’Amaro. It’s not that outlandish a possibility.
Photo:NYpost.com
Remember that Walden is currently a co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment right now.
Wall Street loves the current infrastructure at Netflix, where Greg Peters leads the data side while Ted Sarandos handles creative.
The Walt Disney Company
To a larger point, Disney fully anticipated these anonymous attacks. In fact, someone may have tipped them regarding the Puck slam piece.
Disney seemingly timed the James Gorman announcement perfectly as a counter.
Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The company’s Board got out in front by absolving Iger of the decision.
Gorman deftly handled the transition of power at Morgan Stanley, which makes him above reproach in succession conversations.
Photo: orlandothemeparkzone.com
While we can debate how much Iger has actually ceded authority on this matter, Gorman’s presence provides plausible deniability.
Thus, when Disney makes its choice, whether it’s Walden, D’Amaro, Pitaro, or a surprise, Iger can say it was the Board’s decision.
The Walt Disney Company
Everyone involved with the matter knows this play, which explains why someone specifically went to Puck with this story.
Sure, the reporter might have been on a fishing expedition, but the individual didn’t have to play along.
The Other Implication
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Instead, this individual chose to provide inflammatory quotes suggesting that Disney would be making a mistake in hiring Walden.
We have no way of knowing that yet, and a massive amount of data and personal testimony suggests otherwise.
Then, we have the x-factor of this conversation, the part I haven’t mentioned yet.
The author links Walden to the 2024 election, pointing out the well-established relationship between her and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
In the process, the article implies that Disney will once again be wading back into politics, the field investors just begged the company to abandon.
This bit of “logic” would suggest that having a friendship with someone before they run for office disqualifies you from personal career advancement.
Photo: WHiite House
Think of the association as a fear tactic and a warning that some politically motivated individuals don’t want a Harris ally running Disney.
I’m not going to play out the implications for you, as you’ll do that on your own, but someone only mentions that to add confusion.
Photo: Variety
In short, the entire purpose of this article is to remind Disney’s Board and Gorman that Walden’s candidacy raises questions.
Counterpoint…
Photo: History.com
The counter is the longstanding Wall Street belief that female executives are held to a high standard and must clear more hurdles.
Someone just placed a few such hurdles in front of Walden. How much does any of it matter?
Photo: Variety
That answer depends on how you quantify the validity of these critiques.
Their overriding purpose is to slow down the process, though. It’s someone’s attempt to say, “Have you fully considered the consequences?”
Photo: Recorder.com
The fact that anyone is bothering to do it tells me that some perceive Walden as entering the red zone.
Now, they’re playing defense and hoping to force a turnover. Continuing the football metaphor, it’s a Hail Mary attempt.
Photo: Variety
Those rarely work, and it’s telling that someone feels the need to try.
We may get a Disney CEO announcement before the end of 2024. Someone’s working hard to slam the brakes on it.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo:Holywood Reporter PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANA KING
