- Mar 13, 2024
- 8,650
- 36
A major change has just hit the Walt Disney Company.
©Disney
Bob Iger has served as Disney’s CEO for many years (about 15 years in his first term and about 3 years and 5 months during his second term). He has made major changes throughout his tenure, acquiring brands like Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. He oversaw the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort, the release of movies like Frozen and Avengers: Endgame, and the launch of Disney+. But now, a new Disney CEO has officially taken over.
As of March 18th, 2026, Josh D’Amaro — formerly the Charmian of the Disney Experiences division of the Company — is Disney’s new CEO. The baton has been passed down.
During the 2026 Disney Shareholder Meeting held on March 18th, 2026, Disney addressed the transition from Iger to D’Amaro. Iger came on and had nothing but kind words to say about D’Amaro as he takes over the role. Iger said, “I believe in Josh D’Amaro,” along with “I will be cheering on Josh, Dana, and all of you as I sail off into the sunset.” After a long career, Iger is heading home and is ready to retire.
©Natacha Rafalski and Walt Disney Imagineering via Instagram
Now, this isn’t the first time a new CEO has had to follow Iger and fill his shoes, so to speak. For a brief period of time (from Iger’s departure in 2020 to his return in November 2022), Bob Chapek served as Disney’s CEO. His term was marked by several difficult situations, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the controversial conflict with Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, over the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act. Reports later suggested that Iger regretted choosing Chapek as his successor.
Bob Chapek and Bob Iger ©CNBC
Ultimately, Chapek was removed from his CEO position, and Iger returned with a major focus placed on CEO succession planning to ensure a smooth transition. D’Amaro is the result of all those succession planning efforts. D’Amaro had served as the Chairman of the Disney Experiences division since 2020. He has overseen some major developments for Disney’s theme parks and cruise line, including the opening of new rides and new ships.
But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t all been success after success for D’Amaro. He also served as Chairman of Disney Experiences through the opening and controversial closure of the Star Wars Hotel — Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Josh D’Amaro at Destination D23, 2023 ©Disney
Now it’s just a matter of seeing how his term as CEO will go. Josh won’t be leading the Company alone, though. Uniquely, Disney has also named Dana Walden as President and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Company. According to Disney, Walden will be reporting 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.”
©Disney
And Iger will continue to be present in some way at the Disney Company, since he will serve as a Senior Advisor and a member of the Disney Board until he retires from the company on December 31st, 2026.
Big things coming up in Walden and D’Amaro’s future include the release of several major movies (like the Tangled live-action movie and 2 more Avatar sequels) and work on several expansions at Disney theme parks around the world, like the Cars-themed space coming to Magic Kingdom, Villains land also for Magic Kingdom, and Pueblo Esperanza in Animal Kingdom.
©Disney
What major events will mark D’Amaro’s time as CEO? What successes will he achieve and what challenges will he have to face? Only time will tell.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for ALL the latest updates from Disney, so be sure to check back with us for more news!
What are your thoughts about Josh D’Amaro as the new CEO? Tell us in the comments.
©Disney
Bob Iger has served as Disney’s CEO for many years (about 15 years in his first term and about 3 years and 5 months during his second term). He has made major changes throughout his tenure, acquiring brands like Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. He oversaw the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort, the release of movies like Frozen and Avengers: Endgame, and the launch of Disney+. But now, a new Disney CEO has officially taken over.
As of March 18th, 2026, Josh D’Amaro — formerly the Charmian of the Disney Experiences division of the Company — is Disney’s new CEO. The baton has been passed down.
During the 2026 Disney Shareholder Meeting held on March 18th, 2026, Disney addressed the transition from Iger to D’Amaro. Iger came on and had nothing but kind words to say about D’Amaro as he takes over the role. Iger said, “I believe in Josh D’Amaro,” along with “I will be cheering on Josh, Dana, and all of you as I sail off into the sunset.” After a long career, Iger is heading home and is ready to retire.
©Natacha Rafalski and Walt Disney Imagineering via Instagram
Now, this isn’t the first time a new CEO has had to follow Iger and fill his shoes, so to speak. For a brief period of time (from Iger’s departure in 2020 to his return in November 2022), Bob Chapek served as Disney’s CEO. His term was marked by several difficult situations, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the controversial conflict with Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, over the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act. Reports later suggested that Iger regretted choosing Chapek as his successor.
Bob Chapek and Bob Iger ©CNBC
Ultimately, Chapek was removed from his CEO position, and Iger returned with a major focus placed on CEO succession planning to ensure a smooth transition. D’Amaro is the result of all those succession planning efforts. D’Amaro had served as the Chairman of the Disney Experiences division since 2020. He has overseen some major developments for Disney’s theme parks and cruise line, including the opening of new rides and new ships.
But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t all been success after success for D’Amaro. He also served as Chairman of Disney Experiences through the opening and controversial closure of the Star Wars Hotel — Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Josh D’Amaro at Destination D23, 2023 ©Disney
Now it’s just a matter of seeing how his term as CEO will go. Josh won’t be leading the Company alone, though. Uniquely, Disney has also named Dana Walden as President and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Company. According to Disney, Walden will be reporting 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.”
©Disney
And Iger will continue to be present in some way at the Disney Company, since he will serve as a Senior Advisor and a member of the Disney Board until he retires from the company on December 31st, 2026.
Big things coming up in Walden and D’Amaro’s future include the release of several major movies (like the Tangled live-action movie and 2 more Avatar sequels) and work on several expansions at Disney theme parks around the world, like the Cars-themed space coming to Magic Kingdom, Villains land also for Magic Kingdom, and Pueblo Esperanza in Animal Kingdom.
©Disney
What major events will mark D’Amaro’s time as CEO? What successes will he achieve and what challenges will he have to face? Only time will tell.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for ALL the latest updates from Disney, so be sure to check back with us for more news!
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What are your thoughts about Josh D’Amaro as the new CEO? Tell us in the comments.
