When and How Did Josh D’Amaro Pass Dana Walden?

Two years ago, Dana Walden appeared likely to succeed Bob Iger as CEO.

Then, something changed behind the scenes at The Walt Disney Company.

Now, Disney has settled on a slightly different structure at the top of the corporate food chain.

Walden still earned a promotion, but she’ll be President of Disney, not CEO. So, when and how did Josh D’Amaro pass Dana Walden?

The Leader in the Clubhouse 

When Bob Iger made his triumphant return to Disney, Dana Walden opened the door.

As a neighbor of Iger, Walden had remained in contact with the theoretically retired executive.

As then-CEO Bob Chapek fell in popularity, Walden reached out to Iger more.

Had Chapek known, he may have fired Walden. Remember that he did just that to Peter Rice.

So, Walden took quite a risk in staying in touch with Iger and ultimately asking if he’d return.

Afterward, Walden passed along Iger’s confirming response to Susan Arnold.

At the time, Arnold was Disney’s Chairman of the Board, but her relationship with Iger was strained.

Had Walden not paved the way, Arnold and Iger may never have spoken.

Thus, when Iger returned, speculation naturally ensued that Walden would eventually succeed him.

Iger did nothing to dismiss those reports, acknowledging from the start that he wouldn’t last.

Disney’s returning CEO had already retired once, and he really didn’t want to be there.

No, that’s not how cynics report the story. The honest evaluation is quite different, though.

Iger has come across as checked out throughout his three years back at Disney. He’s tired.

Meanwhile, Walden frequently reinforced the perception that she was the leader in the clubhouse.

As the Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, she deftly managed Disney’s television content.

Success stories such as Bluey, which she had licensed, and Shogun and The Bear made her a rock star.

Hollywood talents rave about her instincts and wisdom, and her track record is the gold standard.

To be clear, Walden has done absolutely nothing to diminish her credentials as a potential CEO.

Many Cast Members were still championing her candidacy as recently as the weekend before the announcement.

What happened is that D’Amaro simply passed her due to a historic run.

D’Amaro’s Big Comeback

In a 2024 Vanity Fair article, the reporter quoted a Hollywood agent on record. They said:

“The word about succession is that it’s all Dana all the time.” That statement doesn’t leave wiggle room.

Less than two years ago, the gap between Walden and everyone else was that big.

Alas, timing is everything, especially in a succession battle, and D’Amaro was about to gain momentum.

His forward acceleration had started in 2023 when Iger had listened to D’Amaro’s advice.

The younger Disney executive passionately campaigned for theme park expansion.

In September 2023, Disney filed the paperwork that committed $60 billion to this process.

That regulatory filing underscored Iger’s trust in D’Amaro as the Chairman of Disney Experiences.

Under Bob Chapek, Disney had adopted a linear growth strategy with modular expansion.

The parks would add one or two marketable attractions and/or themed lands each year.

D’Amaro threw the car into sixth gear and slammed his foot on the gas.

Iger and other members of the Board of Directors noticed and admired D’Amaro’s passion.

Still, that process began several months before the Dana Walden quote I just mentioned.

So, that move didn’t move the needle. The big change wouldn’t occur until 2024.

He Owes It All to Video Games

As 2023 ended, Disney faced an expensive battle against activist investor Nelson Peltz.

Walden couldn’t help much here, as Disney Entertainment had struggled that year.

Even though movies weren’t her domain, her division vastly underachieved in 2023.

Meanwhile, Iger desperately fought to keep Peltz, a known agitator, off Disney’s Board.

To win the public sentiment of shareholders, Iger needed to make some splashy moves.

D’Amaro pitched one of them, an idea Iger never would have come up with on his own.

Since the Disney Experiences Chairman is exactly 20 years younger than Iger, he’s more in touch with modern consumers.

As a gamer, D’Amaro knew the appeal of Epic Games due to its Unreal Engine technology.

Since Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic, had previously collaborated with Disney, D’Amaro had an in.

So, with Iger’s blessing, he reached out to Sweeney, which led to the historic Fortnite agreement.

One of the weirdest facts about the 2024 D23 Expo is that one million people watched the event…from inside Fortnite!

The game livestreamed the theme park presentation, and curious players watched.

Disney direct-dialed a generation of gamers, many of whom weren’t existing Disney fans.

All credit for that went to D’Amaro, which created sudden momentum for his CEO candidacy.

Disney had recently brought James Gorman as a Board member, and he would take note of D’Amaro’s prowess.

That’s another huge factor in this discussion. Iger and Walden mirror each other.

The two television executives share many of the same skills as well as similar professional training and experience.

One of the reasons why D’Amaro passed Walden is that Iger wasn’t the person choosing.

The Importance of Timing

D’Amaro capitalized on his de facto job interview with someone new to Disney.

Gorman hadn’t been a part of the company during Iger’s return.

The former CEO of Morgan Stanley didn’t even officially leave his company until New Year’s Eve 2024.

So, his evaluation at Disney has focused squarely on the past two years.

That timeframe has been rough for Walden for reasons MickeyBlog has covered.

The YouTube TV blackout, the Jimmy Kimmel controversy, and more have happened since Gorman arrived.

During his Disney tenure, Walden has faced significantly more problems than D’Amaro.

Meanwhile, the Experiences division has soared to unprecedented heights the past two years.

For fiscal 2025, D’Amaro’s segment earned $10 billion in profit, while the rest of the company managed “just” $7.6 billion.

During Disney’s most recent quarter, the Experiences division earned $10 billion for the first time.

As popular as D’Amaro is, his one true skill appears to be making money.

Conveniently, the timing of his ascension occurred just as Gorman arrived.

Final Thoughts

To date, Gorman has never noticed D’Amaro struggle in any meaningful way.

Similarly, the big negative for Walden is that Gorman arrived just before she experienced some turbulence.

Simultaneously, D’Amaro’s division has taken off financially due to new profit opportunities.

D’Amaro gets credit for all forms of Lightning Lane, including the highly profitable Premier Pass.

Disney has also increased its cruise revenue under D’Amaro’s watch, which makes him look better.

All of this has happened after Gorman arrived. So, you can understand why he favors D’Amaro.

Based on what Gorman has seen, D’Amaro is an ideal candidate to run an entire business.

So, Walden didn’t do anything wrong. It’s more than D’Amaro leveled up at the perfect moment.

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