Disney’s CEO plan sparks speculation on what the drawn-out Bob Iger succession means

• Disney said Monday it would name a new CEO in early 2026 and named James Gorman as board chairman.
• Bob Iger’s previous succession plan failed, leading to his return as CEO in 2022.
• Some close to Disney are wondering how his next exit will be handled.

News about succession plans more than a year in the future — which fail to name any potential successors — wouldn’t merit a press release at many other companies. But Disney isn’t an ordinary company, considering its high public profile and Bob Iger‘s history of extending his tenure.

Disney’s announcement Monday that it would name its next CEO in early 2026 — and its appointment of a new board chairman, former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman — has drawn a mix of reactions and questions about the future.

One Disney employee shrugged off the news, seeing it as too distant and failing to answer the key question: Who’s going to be the next CEO?

Others read the announcement as a sign that Iger might leave this time — for good. BI spoke to three people close to Disney who said their top questions on the succession announcement include: How will the timeframe impact the search? How will Iger manage the transition? And could he stay on in another role? They asked for anonymity to protect their business relationships. Their identities are known to BI.

Disney’s last Iger succession plan failed

Gorman, who effectively managed his own succession at Morgan Stanley, was named in August to chair Disney’s succession planning committee. One person close to Disney said there had been chatter inside the company that he was intent on getting it done right, aware of the high stakes involved.

Iger’s current contract ends in December 2026, and Gorman said in the announcement Monday that finding a replacement was a “critical priority.” Gorman will become chairman in January 2025.

Iger could stick around after a new CEO is installed by becoming the board chair. But a second person close to Disney speculated that a heavy-hitter like Gorman would want to stay in the role after overseeing a task as important as the succession process.

“You don’t lead the process and then say, ‘I’m out of here,'” this person said.

While Disney hadn’t given a formal timeframe for a successor announcement until now, the 2026 date is later than many in Hollywood had expected. Some said it could be a sign that there was no clear frontrunner internally, and speculated that Disney could name two internal candidates as co-CEOs, akin to Netflix’s arrangement.

Disney flubbed Iger’s last handover badly. Iger turned over the reins to Bob Chapek in 2020 and stayed on as executive chairman to mentor him. As has been extensively reported, he grew unhappy with Chapek’s leadership and clashed with his appointed successor over business decisions. In late 2022, Disney dismissed Chapek and brought Iger back as CEO with a two-year contract, then extended through 2026.

How the next Iger handover is handled will be seen through the lens of that history.

Will Iger stick around again to mentor his next successor and risk a repeat of the Chapek fiasco — or at least the specter of it — or go away quietly?

That may depend, of course, on who his successor is and how much mentoring they might need. Disney is a sprawling company with various business lines, from filmed entertainment to sports and theme parks. It would be hard to find a CEO candidate with expertise in all of them.

Four prominent internal candidates have been widely floated, but no frontrunner has been clearly identified publicly. Disney said it was continuing to review external candidates as well. Still, some close to the company speculated that Disney would name an internal candidate who knows the culture intimately and is familiar with at least some of the business.

Disney declined to comment; reps for Gorman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Here’s a rundown of the four Disney executives whose names come up the most among industry insiders as potential successors to Iger:

Dana Walden: The Disney Entertainment co-chair oversees Disney’s vast TV portfolio that’s key to its streaming future, and has a similar career trajectory to Iger’s. She has deep relationships with talent and would let Disney name its first female CEO. One knock on her is that she’s a relative newcomer, having joined the company five years ago as part of its Fox acquisition.

Alan Bergman: Walden’s low-key co-chair oversees Disney’s movies, which drives a lot of the rest of the business, and is a longtime Disney executive. Like Walden, he has the critical respect of the creative community. Disney has had a series of box-office flops lately, but Iger has said he’s committed to getting them back on track.

Josh D’Amaro: The Disney Experiences chairman is in charge of the all-important theme parks, cruise lines, and consumer products. As such, he leads a huge profit center for the company, where he also has to navigate the company’s unions and the fallout from its political battles with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He’s popular with Disney fans, though he also lacks the TV and movie experience crucial to the company’s future.

Jimmy Pitaro: The ESPN chairman is credited with preparing the sports network for a digital future and helping Disney secure a new 11-year media rights deal with the NFL. Pitaro is well-liked but also oversees a relatively small segment at Disney.