Dana Walden Has All the Momentum, But…
In recent weeks, succession discussions have picked up steam at The Walt Disney Company. You can probably tell from all our recent coverage, as the rumor mill has dramatically ramped up stories about each candidate.
Walt Disney Company
Last month, I reported on the knives coming out for Dana Walden, the Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment. This week, we learned why, as Disney and Hulu shattered records for Emmy Awards victories.
Photo: Economic Times
Now, Variety has interviewed “nearly a dozen industry players” and confirmed the obvious. Dana Walden has all the momentum. And Bob Iger has a plan to stay beyond 2026…
A Big Week for Walden
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
The official Disney site started bragging as soon as The Emmy Awards ended on Sunday. “The Walt Disney Company proudly announces a record-breaking 60 wins for the 76th Emmy® Awards across its content brands, studios, and platforms.”
Photo: Disney
You don’t need to know much about The Emmys to realize that 60 victories is a lot. So, the executive in charge of that division will earn much of the credit.
Photo: online.com
Yes, that’s Dana Walden, and the timing couldn’t be better for her. Disney’s Board of Directors has recently gotten serious about choosing Bob Iger’s successor as CEO.
Disney
While James Gorman will technically decide the candidate, we all know that Iger himself will heavily influence the decision. Based on recent revelations, Disney probably should keep Iger away from this discussion, but that’s never going to happen.
Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Since Iger came up through television, many insiders believe that he’d like to choose someone like him for the role. That’s Walden. Therefore, most plugged-in sources deem her the favorite, as do I.
Photo: TheWrap.com
Then again, the favorite doesn’t always win. Just five years ago, many people (including me) believed that Kevin Mayer would succeed Iger. Everyone involved with the Bob Chapek promotion sincerely wishes that had happened instead…except maybe Iger.
Source: CNBC.com
After all, the entire situation worked out perfectly for Disney’s current CEO. He got to go sailing for the body of a year. Then, Iger returned to Disney and promptly assassinated his disloyal lieutenant. It was downright Shakespearean. And that seemingly random reminder brings us to now…
Walden’s Victory Lap
Photo: Disney
Look, Variety isn’t going to break any news on the Dana Walden front right now. She faced a media swarm in the days leading up to The Emmys, as everyone knew Disney would dominate.
Photo: FX
Three shows – The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, and Shogun – earned 69 nominations. I’m not joking when I say that the surprise here is that Disney didn’t win even more awards!
Photo: Variety
In fact, The Bear suffered a shocking upset, losing Outstanding Comedy Series to Hacks. Walden’s team at Disney Entertainment stacked the deck so completely that any Emmy loss felt at least somewhat unexpected.
(Photo by Phil Faraone/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
So, everyone tried to interview Walden, who spent the past few days handling the situation like a pro. Walden acted humble and thankful, while praising her staff lavishly and making sure to note that she knew nothing about Disney succession.
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
She was lying, and everyone recognized that fact. But that’s how the game is played in C-suites and in Hollywood. Walden has proven herself a natural in accepting adulation while feigning (?) humility.
Holywood Reporter PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANA KING
Nobody remembers it now, but Iger used to be a master of that as well, although few would describe him as humble today. In short, Walden looks like the time capsule version of Iger, a modern creation of a proven success.
Photo: History.com
That’s why Hollywood and Wall Street alike expect her to become CEO. And that’s not really a story. Variety knows this, but it did have a bombshell revelation in its story.
Photo: Deadline
Bob Iger isn’t committing to Disney all the way through 2026.
Iger Out?!
Photo: Disney
Let’s not even try to decode this. Instead, I’ll quote Variety directly. First, here’s the Walden description: “A savvy executive with decades of talent relations under her belt, Walden is seen as the closest spiritual successor to Iger — an executive who projects a placid kind of perfection and prioritizes creative output.”
JON KOPALOFF/GETTY IMAGES
Yeah, that sounds about right. In truth, Walden probably appeals to Iger’s inner narcissist in that she’s so similar to him. But the tantalizing part of the story involves Iger’s future plans.
Bob Iger
Yes, Disney’s CEO has sworn he doesn’t want to stay at Disney, even as he signs contract extensions. Iger retired in 2021. His sabbatical lasted less than 11 months. At the time, he swore he was only back in the short term.
NBC News
We can quibble over how short a term four years is, but that’s not the point here. This is the jaw-dropper: “Iger also is willing to step into an executive chairman role if the right CEO candidate is found before his contract expires, another source adds.
(Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney)
That might even mean looking beyond Disney’s current leadership to seek an executive outside the Magic Kingdom.”
What This Means
Walt Disney Company
This comment sure sounds like Disney is conducting a full-throated search for a candidate, not just conceding the job to someone already there. In short, that’s a worrisome quote for Walden and, to a lesser extent, Josh D’Amaro.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company-
Josh D’Amaro (Chairman; Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)
Variety’s sources suggest what I have on several occasions. If Walden is the top candidate, D’Amaro is 1A. Disney executives and Board members allegedly love both. But Iger loves Disney more than either, and perhaps his legacy most of all.
Photo: Orlando Sentinel
Since Iger spit the bit on succession once, he doesn’t want to get it wrong again. For this reason, Iger is getting the word out that he’d once again kick himself up to Executive Chairman.
Photo: Getty
In the process, an outsider could take over as Disney CEO immediately with Iger staying long enough to smooth over the transition. No, that didn’t work last time. And no, Disney probably shouldn’t try that again.
Image: Disney
In truth, I hate every word I just typed, as history would be repeating itself…and the wrong kind of history at that. Still, somebody at the company wants non-Disney executives to express interest in the position before Gorman (or Iger) decides.
Photo: MiceChat
The reporter notes that in that scenario, Disney probably loses Walden and D’Amaro in the exchange. Neither of them sounds likely to stay at Disney if an outsider comes aboard to take their dream job.
The Walt Disney Company
As for the job itself, one source summarizes Disney’s pressing thought in all these discussions. “The new CEO needs to serve Disney’s real customer(s). And those are the ones laying in maternity wards right now.”
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
I suspect all this is much ado about nothing, but let’s wait to see if any rumors heat up about outside candidates. 
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