We Know Which Disney Chairman Won’t Be CEO
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that a perceived frontrunner to become CEO of The Walt Disney Company had fallen.
That candidate was an outside executive who was under consideration to join Disney.
Now, a current Disney Chairman has just dropped out of the race to succeed Bob Iger as CEO.
Photo: Deadline
Somehow, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as the first quarter of 2025 has involved plenty of corporate drama.
So, we know which Disney Chairman won’t be CEO, and we also just learned quite a bit more about the other candidates.
Walt Disney Company
Apparently, if you’re betting on this race, you should place your money on a current Disney employee. Here’s what’s happening.
A Chairman Declines
Atlanta Falcons
I hereby officially decline the job as the next manager of the Atlanta Braves.
While I realize that current manager Brian Snitker turns 70 this year and probably isn’t long for the job, I still won’t try.
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
My logic here is the same strategy current ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro is employing.
We both know we aren’t getting our dream job, and so we act like it’s our choice not to do it.
Lucas Shaw (Twitter)
According to Lucas Shaw at Bloomberg, the head of ESPN has told others “that he’s not interested in the role.”
The fact that he was wildly unlikely to get it probably factored heavily into his thought process.
(Photo by Amy Sussman/WireImage)
Pitaro already holds one of the most powerful jobs in sports.
Since he’s unlikely to become CEO, he might as well not bother to try.
(Photo by Arturo Holmes/WireImage)
Longtime readers of my writing know that I’ve always viewed Pitaro as a fringe candidate.
The more likely pathway to a CEO gig for him would involve a spinoff of ESPN into its own entity.
Photo: Disney
And that possibility appeared more likely 18 months ago than it is now.
At this point, if Pitaro wants to run the show somewhere, he’s likely to do it outside ESPN.
Photo: Walt Disney Company
As a pro tip, I’ll mention that a couple of sports leagues will be replacing their commissioners soon.
Pitaro becomes a fascinating dark horse candidate for those roles due to his exemplary job performance at ESPN.
Photo: Variety (Rex/Shutterstock)
Since Iger limited the scope of Pitaro’s domain to sports, ESPN’s big boss never made sense as a viable replacement.
His telling people he’s dropping out is more of a formality than anything else, as it helps the Board of Directors.
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Now, nobody must waste time and resources vetting Pitaro.
PS: Atlanta, I lied. I’ll totally be the next Braves manager. Call me.
The Walls Are Closing in
Photo: Variety
Bloomberg has performed a significant amount of reporting on Disney succession lately.
As MickeyBlog has mentioned, Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden appeared at the Morgan Stanley Conference.
Holywood Reporter PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANA KING
Iger reportedly wanted one of his top lieutenants to address her biggest perceived weakness, a lack of awareness on Wall Street.
Bloomberg is selling the notion that Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro appeared at SXSW for the same reason.
Frankly, that’s hogwash since D’Amaro has attended a couple of times previously.
Still, the argument presented is that D’Amaro’s biggest weakness is that he has zero experience in Hollywood.
Photo: Disney
So, SXSW ostensibly provided him with an opportunity to heighten his profile with the entertainment crowd.
As a reminder, Disney’s other Co-Chairman of Entertainment, Alan Bergman, joined D’Amaro on stage.
Ergo, this event doubled as Bergman’s chance to show he has worked with the theme parks division quite a bit.
I dismissed the whole thing as a silly Festival of Friendship rather than either executive’s chance to prove themselves.
Walt Disney Company
According to Bloomberg, Disney doesn’t consider any of these appearances as tests.
What we’re witnessing instead is a measured attempt by Iger to start stepping back as the face of Disney.
While multiple articles mention that Wall Street executives still aren’t sure he’s leaving, Iger seems to have one foot out the door.
I know. I can’t believe it, either. This time, he really appears to be preparing his permanent exit, though.
Walt Disney Company
As part of that move, Iger is positioning all his lieutenants to prove themselves to Disney’s Board of Directors.
Notably, Bloomberg states that Disney isn’t likely to hire someone outside the company.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company. Josh D’Amaro
The belief is that an outsider wouldn’t have the necessary time to learn the specifics of the Disney Flywheel.
And Then There Were Three
Photo: Disney
Based on what I’m reading and hearing, Alan Bergman isn’t a serious candidate, either.
The perception, both inside and outside the Disney campus, is that Walden has done more with less.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company –
Fair or unfair, Bergman has taken the rap as doing less with more.
Personally, I don’t buy that, as Bergman just steered Disney toward a big comeback last year.
Disney
Unfortunately, he’s getting dinged for projects everyone knew were facing an uphill struggle.
The two most significant ones are Captain America: Brave New World, which won’t turn a profit, and Snow White.
Photo: Disney
The latter film is one Disney frankly just wants to get over with, even though its early reviews were positive. It has since collapsed.
Independent of film quality, Disney lost the PR battle on this one before Bergman and his team even realized the battle had begun.
Variety
On the outside, Ynon Kreiz, the CEO of Mattel, was gaining some attention as an outside candidate for a while.
While nothing is settled and anything is possible, this rumor never made a lick of sense to me.
TIME
Kreiz previously worked at Disney when he was the head of Maker, a disastrous purchase that cost Iger $500 million.
Disney bought Maker in 2014. A decade later, nobody could explain why Iger spent half a billion on it.
Fortune
While Kreiz’s performance has been an exemplary leader at Mattel, his negative association with Disney makes his candidacy a non-starter.
So, once again, we’re back to the same choice that I’ve told you to expect for the body of two years now.
Photo: Disney
Either Josh D’Amaro or Dana Walden is likely to succeed Iger as Disney CEO. Berman’s a longshot, and Pitaro just dropped out.
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Feature Photo: Disney/ESPN
