Let's CEO Together: Disney Reportedly Toyed With Co-CEO Structure for Iger's Succession

Some consider it a bad idea, others might think of other past Disney leadership duos.
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A new report from CNBC confirms that the company has toyed with what many insiders might have been thinking (or even hoping for) about Disney CEO Bob Iger’s successor(s), while also pointing out some red flags about a Co-CEO set-up with Dana Walden and Josh D’Amaro.

What’s Happenings:

  • Devotees may recall that we are fast approaching one of the most anticipated announcements in the entertainment industry - who will replace Bob Iger as CEO of the Walt Disney Company?
  • The company has publicly stated that they will name Iger’s successor in early 2026, while Iger remains alongside that individual for the remainder of the year as his contract expires at the end of 2026.    
  • A new report from CNBC points out two individuals already at the company who are the most likely contenders for the job, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro, and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden.
  • Walden brings decades of Hollywood experience to the table, while D’Amaro worked in consumer products before being named head of the theme parks division by former Disney CEO Bob Chapek.
  • The D’Amaro/Walden duo has a complementary skill set, and as such it is being speculated (given recent decisions in the corporate media world and beyond) that a co-CEO appointment could happen to replace Iger.
  • CNBC points out that Netflix has done this recently, and even Iger called the streamer’s now-CEO Ted Sarandos about their model. Spotify, Oracle, and Comcast have adopted the joint CEO model as well.
  • CNBC also notes that there are some company insiders who warn that there are specifics unique to The Walt Disney Company that could make such a model unwise for the company.  Especially if Iger remains on the company board, as some staff and external partners may still view him as the CEO, further undercutting a power-sharing structure with two CEOs.
  • This theory is further backed by Iger’s reputation for not wanting to leave the company, remaining in a top spot, where other CEO’s like Netflix’s Reed Hastings have turned their attention to hobbies after giving up their role. Iger has previously pushed back his retirement no less than five times, staying at Disney’s helm.
  • Insiders also note the power-sharing structure when former CEO Bob Chapek came into the role, when the two clashed Iger remained at the company, directing the company’s “Creative Endeavors" for more than a year.
  • Additionally, Walden and D’Amaro haven’t worked together as closely and for as long as other CEOs like those at Netflix and other companies with long-term co-CEO success, though Walden has worked at length with co-chair models like her current position, and in her role running Fox TV.
  • Plus, picking one over the other could lead to the other running to another company for a top spot, similar to what happened with streaming head Kevin Mayer and parks chairman Tom Staggs both left the company after not being considered for the top spot.
  • CNBC also draws out a (notably recent) history of succession processes at Disney, noting Michael Eisner’s transition with Bob Iger and the later Iger/Chapek transition which was infamously troublesome. With all the acquisitions (largely under Iger) like Pixar, Fox, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, the report also points out that there are many employees from many different corporate cultures that makes the company famously political. All those different arms and structures don’t breed a unified company mindset that caused one media exec to tell CNBC, “(The Co-CEO model) wouldn’t work for Disney. There would be so much backbiting. That’s how it’s always been there."

An Overlooked Precedent:

  • While not necessarily bearing the CEO title, the company also has a history of co-leadership in the top positions, starting all the way back to Walt Disney himself.
  • Originally, it was kept in the family. While Walt never took on the technical title of CEO, he remained the creative leader, filmmaker, and innovator at the studio while his brother, Roy O. Disney, remained the financial and operational head of the company.
  • This partnership model became the gold standard for “creative + business" duos that still exist in the entertainment industry today.
  • While others followed, like Donn Tatum and Card Walker, Card Walker & Ron Miller, the company’s next major era arrived in 1984.
  • It was then that Michael Eisner and Frank Wells arrived at the studio, as CEO and President/COO respectively, bringing that near-perfect balance of creative and business stability.
  • Under them, the Walt Disney Company rapidly expanded, adding more theme parks and resorts to their portfolio and ushered in an iconic era at the studio, including the Disney Animation renaissance.
  • That balance was only disrupted in 1994 after a helicopter crash led to the tragic passing of Frank Wells.
  • What followed were some less formal duos, especially after the departure/ousting of Eisner in 2005 when Iger took over as CEO. In the late 2010s, you saw them starting to form with Iger and Staggs or Iger and Mayer, both considered potential successors to Iger at different points before installing Chapek in the top spot, and leading to the departure of both Staggs and Mayer from Disney.

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Tony Betti
Originally from California where he studied a dying artform (hand-drawn animation), Tony has spent most of his adult life in the theme parks of Orlando. When he’s not writing for LP, he’s usually watching and studying something animated or arguing about “the good ole’ days” at the parks.
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