Disney CEO Bob Iger is set to retire at the end of 2026.
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Iger was previously CEO of the company for 15 years before handing over the reins to Bob Chapek in 2020. Chapek lasted until 2022, when he was ousted from the role, and his job was given back to Iger. Now, Iger’s second term as CEO includes one major goal — to find a suitable successor.
For the past two years, people have debated heavily about who might replace Bob Iger when his contract ends. It was recently announced that Iger’s successor will be revealed in early 2026 — Iger’s contract ends with that calendar year. But who will it be? Well, we’ve got a possible update on the contenders.
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The Wrap has shared an update on the Bob Iger succession battle, noting which candidates are now in the lead for the position. The race as it currently stands seems to be honing in on an executive in Disney’s creative divisions, meaning that Dana Walden and Alan Bergman have the early lead. Iger has frequently noted that his successor would need to be someone immersed in Disney’s foundation of storytelling.
The Walt Disney Company headquarters in California
Of the two frontrunners, Walden seems to be the more likely choice. She would be the first female CEO in Disney’s 101-year history, and she has worked on a variety of projects that brought major returns for Disney, including a number of awards nominations and extensive revenue. Currently, Walden is the Co-Chairman of Entertainment for the company.
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The downside to choosing Walden would be that she doesn’t have experience in the Parks & Resorts aspect of the company. Walden is also more connected to the TV side of Disney than the filmmaking. However, these problems could be mitigated with the right team of executives behind her.
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The other top candidate is Walden’s Co-Chairman of Entertainment, Alan Bergman. Bergman works heavily in the film section of Entertainment, and since he started in 2005, dozens of Disney films have reached $1 billion at the box office. While Bergman was not directly involved in any of the major acquisitions (like Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars), he has successfully overseen these studios since they joined the Disney umbrella.
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The argument against choosing Bergman, however, is that the success of those studios and franchises comes more from the people directly overseeing them — creative minds like Kevin Feige and Pete Docter. This makes Bergman less of a “creative” candidate for the position than Walden. Like Walden, he doesn’t have much experience in Parks & Resorts, and conversely, he lacks experience in the TV aspect of the company.
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But what about the other executives who were noted to be in the running? Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro may be a fan-favorite for the role, but he lacks the background in creativity that Iger so heavily values. However, he does have the wealth of Parks experience that the other candidates lack. It just may not be what Iger’s looking for in his successor.
Josh D’Amaro at Destination D23, 2023 ©Disney
The other name mentioned heavily was Jimmy Pitaro, who runs ESPN. Pitaro has a more diversified experience working with Disney than the other candidates, having previously held the role of Chairman of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. However, Pitaro hasn’t worked very much on the scripted entertainment side of things. And as Yahoo puts it, “Pitaro may suffer from an affliction far too common in corporate America — he’s too good at his current job.” His role would likely be harder to fill than Walden or Bergman’s.
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Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see who officially wins the CEO race — we’ve got a little over a year left before we find out! Until then, we’ll make sure to keep you in the loop with all the updates.
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I don’t think it matters much if the future CEO doesn’t have parks experience. Josh D’Amaro can easily handle the parks end of things with little involvement by the CEO. That’s why great leaders are surrounded by great people. After the Chapek disaster, it isn’t very appealing to promote a parks person into the CEO role!
Please just no more “woke”
Keep looking, Disney. I am less than impressed with these two. No one who continues Bob Iger’s agenda of political messaging should be seriously considered. Americans are past tired of Disney injecting divisive politics into everything they do. Get back to the basics of family entertainment.