Newly Christened Disney President and CCO Dana Walden Calls Position Her “Dream Job”

The news Disney fans have long been waiting for finally came down the pipeline today, as The Walt Disney Company announced that Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro will be the company’s 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

D’Amaro’s appointment comes at the conclusion of an extensive CEO search that saw the Disney board consider more than 100 internal and external candidates.

Photo: Disney

As the process drew to a close in recent weeks, however, it became clear that the race had narrowed to two finalists: D’Amaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden.

Walden’s New Role

While Walden was ultimately not selected as Disney’s next CEO, she did receive a promotion.

JON KOPALOFF/GETTY IMAGES

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.”

Hollywood Reporter PHOTOGRAPHED BY DIANA KING

While Disney’s choice of D’Amaro has been almost universally praised, the company’s ability to keep Walden in-house has also been widely lauded, particularly within studio circles.

The New President and CCO Makes Her First Statement

Hours after Walden was promoted to President and Chief Creative Officer of Disney, the longtime executive took to social media to congratulate D’Amaro and thank her peers.

Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

“I’m honored to be named Disney’s first President and Chief Creative Officer and to work with our outstanding next CEO Josh D’Amaro and my brilliant colleagues Alan Bergman, Jimmy Pitaro, and Asad Ayaz. This is a dream job for me. I’m grateful to Robert Iger and the Disney board for this opportunity to build on Disney’s wonderful legacy and carry our creative endeavors into the future,” she wrote.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dana Walden (@danawalden)

By the sound of things, Walden is happy in her new position and ready to help lead Disney into a new era.