Dana Walden Named President and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Company
The news that Disney fans have long been waiting for finally came down the pipeline today, as The Walt Disney Company has announced that Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro will be their next CEO.
D’Amaro will officially succeed Bob Iger at the company’s Annual Meeting on March 18. As part of the promotion, he will also be appointed to the Disney board.
Photo: Disney
“Josh D’Amaro is an exceptional leader and the right person to become our next CEO,” Iger said.
“He has an instinctive appreciation of the Disney brand, and a deep understanding of what resonates with our audiences, paired with the rigor and attention to detail required to deliver some of our most ambitious projects. His ability to combine creativity with operational excellence is exemplary and I am thrilled for Josh and the company.”
The End of a Long Process
While D’Amaro’s ascension was perhaps the worst-kept secret in Hollywood, it is exciting that the news has finally become official.
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The Disney Experiences chairman was tapped after an extensive search that included both internal and external candidates.
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As the search wound down, however, it turned into a two-horse race between D’Amaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden.
Walden’s New Role
While Walden was ultimately not selected as Disney’s next CEO, the company did find a promotion for her.
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Concurrent with D’Amaro’s appointment, Walden has been named President and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Company.
In her new role, Walden will report directly to D’Amaro and “will ensure that storytelling and creative expression across every audience touchpoint consistently reflect the brand, engage audiences at scale, and advance core business objectives, while driving enterprise-wide initiatives and translating vision into action.”
Holywood Reporter also PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANA KING
In the end, Disney got the best of both worlds. By promoting D’Amaro and finding a new role for Walden, the company was able to keep both of their top executives in-house.
The future of the company looks bright.
Photo: MickeyBlog
