Since his surprise return in 2022, Disney CEO Bob Iger has faced several challenges from turning things around for the parks to finding a niche in the world of streaming and even going head-to-head with the Governor of Florida.
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But, Iger has announced that he plans to step down in 2026, leaving us wondering just who will take his place. A succession search committee has been at work for a while now, and it sounds like we may be getting closer to having our answer.
Disney will name a new chief executive officer in “early 2026,” according to a new report from the New York Times. This timeline is much later than was originally anticipated by fans and others in the media business.
Walt Disney Studios
The announcement is the first Disney has publicly shared about when a new CEO might be named and came as part of a change to the board. James P. Gorman, a banker who joined the board in February, will become Disney’s chairman on January 2nd, 2025. Gorman is replacing Mark G. Parker, who will be stepping down after two years in his role — leaving the Disney board entirely.
Walt Disney Studios
“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new C.E.O., which we now expect to announce in early 2026,” Gorman said in a statement. “This timing reflects the progress the succession planning committee and the board are making and will allow ample time for a successful transition.”
Back in August, Gorman was tasked with leading the search for Iger’s successor when he was named chair of the Succession Planning Committee. Now, he’ll take up the mantle as chairman of the Disney Board of Directors as well.
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Mark Parker was once thought to be in the running for the next Disney CEO, but the current rumored picks are Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment; Jimmy Pitaro, former ESPN president; Disney Parks chair Josh D’Amaro; or Alan Bergman could be named CEO.
Parker said in a statement he would be focusing his attention on Nike, where he is the executive chairman.
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James Gorman currently serves as executive chairman of Morgan Stanley, which he ran from 2010 until last year. He has “won praise across corporate America for how he managed the succession process at Morgan Stanley” so hopefully, the same will be true for his work on Disney’s Succession Planning Committee.
Magic Kingdom
The Board formed its special Succession Planning Committee back in January 2023, which is dedicated to “a deliberate succession planning process, including evaluation of transition structures and organizational frameworks, and planning for potential impacts of succession decisions across the Company.” Disney explained that since the start of fiscal 2024, the Committee has met six times.
EPCOT
Ultimately, it sounds like we’ll have to wait until early 2026 to find out who will replace Bob Iger as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for more!
NEWS: Disney CEO Bob Iger Confirms 2026 Exit
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2026 will be here faster then we think.
We have a date! I wish it were sooner, but we have a date. I hope the Board holds Iger to this date and disallows any further extensions. I am glad that Disney is getting a new Board Chairman too. Disney needs new leadership from outside the company. I hope they can find the right person, and avoid hiring an Iger clone or fellow practitioner of the Woke Arts, which along with Disney’s lack of depth in all things creative, has contributed to its decline. Disney needs a back to basics, back to Walt’s Vision, overhaul.
PLEASE let the replacement be a lover of CLASSIC DISNEY. PLEASE!
It won’t be soon enough. The mis-steps under Iger is many.