The biggest job in entertainment is going to be vacant in a little over two years. Bob Iger is set to step down, again, as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company at the end of 2026. Who the next CEO of the company could be is far from clear. There are four different strong candidates who work at the House of Mouse right now that are reportedly in the running, but it’s possible that none of them could end up getting the job.
It’s previously been reported that inside Disney, the CEO succession battle is between ESPN chief Jim Pitaro, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amato, and the co-heads of Walt Disney Studios, Dana Walden and Alan Horn. However, A report in the Wall Street Journal this morning confirms something that had been suspected, that the Disney Board of Directors is considering possible candidates from outside of TWDC. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson has been named specifically as a potential choice.
As a big Disney fan, and a frequent theme park visitor, I’m pretty strongly invested in this CEO search, and while I understand there’s potential value in bringing somebody in from the outside, I have some serious concerns.
I Want A CEO Who Understands Theme Parks, Movies And Merch As Well As How They’re Supposed To Work Together
Disney is a multi-headed hydra that’s quite different from most entertainment companies. It’s a movie studio and also a theme park company. A massive chunk of its revenue comes not from either of those, but from the merchandise that’s attached to both of them. There’s simply no external candidate who is going to have the right mix of experience to understand how it all works, because nobody does it like Disney.
To be fair, one of the major arguments against some of Disney’s internal candidates is that they are missing some of that knowledge, too. Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro has been part of the theme park business for years, but he certainly isn’t an expert on the studio side. It was one of the big problems that former CEO Bob Chapek had when he made the move from Parks to CEO (as evidenced by the since-settled Black Widow lawsuit). Likewise, Disney Studio co-chair Dana Walden has strong relationships within Hollywood but isn’t a theme park expert.
If those issues are potentially disqualifying for those inside the conglomerate, any external candidate is going to have even bigger downsides. Those who work there, even if there are things they don’t know, still understand how the company works and how the different pieces work together.
Disney Doesn’t Need New Blood (At The Moment)
The Walt Disney Company has only brought in one CEO from the outside in the company’s history. Michael Eisner was hired from his job at Paramount specifically because Disney’s studio was in trouble and needed new ideas. It was clear that “business as usual” at Disney wasn’t working at the time.
However, the mega corporation doesn’t have that problem right now. The top two box office movies from the 2024 movie schedule are both from the House of Mouse, and they’ve each made a billion dollars. Disney’s theme parks continue to dominate and, with the expansion plans at Disneyland and Disney World already announced, things will surely grow from here.
Bringing in somebody new from the outside now could very well bring fresh ideas the business needs, but it could just as easily break what isn’t broken.
I Want A CEO Who Cares About Disney As Much As I Do
Arguably the biggest problem with an external candidate is that they’re not likely to come into the job with a passion for all things Disney. While this quality can’t exactly be measured, I truly believe this matters as much as any knowledge about running movie studios or theme parks.
Disney is unlike other entertainment companies not simply because it owns a dozen theme parks, but because the name Disney matters to the average consumer in a way that few other brands matter. The company’s former CEOs have been very protective of the brand name because many who have held the role over the years knew Walt Disney personally.
Even those that never met him understood that they were following in his footsteps. Listen to Michael Eisner or Bob Iger talk, and you can hear their passion for Disney. It’s not just that they want it be successful, they want it to be Disney.
It’s not impossible that a new CEO from the outside won’t become passionate about Disney, that certainly happened with Michael Eisner, who drank the Kool-Aid (ate the Dole Whip?) very quickly. However, the more likely scenario is that somebody who has never worked for Disney will treat it like it’s just any other company, which it isn’t. And it’s a big risk.
That’s not to say that every internal Disney candidate is a better option here. Dana Walden is a relatively recent addition to Disney, having come over as part of the Fox merger. How much she has embraced all things Disney is far from clear. ESPN is practically an island unto itself, so how much Chairman James Pitaro even feels like he works for the Mouse House is unknown.
Disney doesn’t need to remain stagnant. In fact, it absolutely should not. However, any new CEO is going to make big changes simply because they are different people. What Disney is, matters.