Disney is inching closer to a future without Bob Iger at the helm, although it may take a little longer than expected. Now the entertainment and theme park juggernaut says it will name its new CEO in “early 2026.”
James Gorman will take over as the Disney board’s chairman on Jan. 2, 2025, the company also announced Monday, Oct. 21. Gorman will officially step away from his executive chairman role at Morgan Stanley at the end of 2024.
Gorman is taking over the board chair role from Mark Parker, who also serves as executive chairman at Nike, which has its own troubles and recently faced a CEO shakeup. Parker served as president and CEO of Nike from 2006 to 2020. The Disney board had even asked him to consider being interim CEO in 2022, but he declined, citing his Nike workload.
There are already many rumors surrounding which internal Disney candidates are leading the race to take over for Iger. The shortlist includes Dana Walden, the co-chair of Disney Entertainment; Alan Bergman, Walden’s co-chair; Josh D’Amaro, who is head of Disney Experiences, and Jimmy Pitaro, who runs ESPN. The Succession Planning Committee says it will still “review internal candidates and external candidates.”
Iger served as CEO of Disney from 2005 to 2020. He hand-picked Bob Chapek to be his successor, but after a series of missteps and weak performance, Disney fired Chapek in 2022. Iger returned to the company and the dysfunction of the succession process caught the attention of the media and investors.
With Iger in charge, Disney survived a proxy war in April with activist investor Nelson Peltz. Peltz was unhappy with the company’s succession handling and its lackluster performance in streaming.
Iger’s latest tenure as CEO is set to culminate at the end of 2026 when his contract expires.
Gorman took over the Succession Planning Committee in August. He served as CEO of Morgan Stanley from 2010 to 2023. He oversaw the succession process that led to Ted Pick becoming the bank’s CEO.
“This timing reflects the progress the Succession Planning Committee and the Board are making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract,” Gorman said of the 2026 target.
The Disney succession committee will include Parker through the rest of the year, along with GM CEO Mary Barra and lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald.
