For the past several years, Josh D\u2019Amaro has been running the engine of Disney\u2019s business. But it\u2019s not a movie studio or a slate of streaming channels. It\u2019s the company\u2019s lucrative and iconic theme parks.<\/p>\n
Now, the longtime Disney executive is set to take the top job.<\/p>\n
The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that D\u2019Amaro will become CEO<\/a> on March 18, succeeding Bob Iger after a carefully choreographed succession process. <\/p>\n He is taking over at a moment when streaming, film and sports media remain in flux and big studios and networks are struggling to predict how audiences will be consuming media<\/a> three years from now. <\/p>\n The uncertainty makes D\u2019Amaro\u2019s success with the theme parks all the more valuable to the company.<\/p>\n As Disney embarks on its largest global parks expansion ever \u2014 a roughly $60 billion<\/a>, decadelong investment that includes new cruise ships, domestic expansions and a planned resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates \u2014 the board is betting that the executive leading the company\u2019s most reliable business line is the right person to take over the whole show.<\/p>\n \u201cJosh D\u2019Amaro is an exceptional leader and the right person to become our next CEO,\u201d Iger said in a news release. \u201cHe has an instinctive appreciation of the Disney brand, and a deep understanding of what resonates with our audiences, paired with the rigor and attention to detail required to deliver some of our most ambitious projects.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Eisner, who was Disney\u2019s CEO from 1984 to 2005, also weighed in on the decision, writing on X<\/a>: \u201cMy advice to Josh is [to] continue Bob Iger\u2019s strategy that creativity will handle profits, always protect the brand, and keep close the words of Walt Disney: \u2018We love to entertain kings and queens, but the vital thing to remember is this\u2014every guest receives the VIP treatment.\u2019 Good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n Disney\u2019s succession planning has been under close scrutiny after its last leadership transition ended when CEO Bob Chapek \u2014 hand-selected by Iger in 2020 \u2014 was ousted after less than three years on the job.<\/p>\n Like D\u2019Amaro, Chapek previously led the parks business before he was promoted to CEO. That history has sharpened the board\u2019s focus this time on ensuring a smoother transition and continuity from Iger\u2019s tenure in the top. <\/p>\n