Disney Executives Reportedly Have a Favorite Front-Runner to Succeed Bob Iger

There is a growing belief inside Disney and across the entertainment industry that D’Amaro is the favorite to take over as Disney boss when Iger retires. People familiar with the process told Bloomberg that Disney’s board is mainly considering four internal candidates: Josh D’Amaro, Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, and Jimmy Pitaro.

Walden and Bergman share leadership of Disney’s entertainment division, while Pitaro runs ESPN. Iger’s current contract runs through December 2026, but the company has said it plans to pick a new leader early next year.

The succession process is being led by James Gorman, Disney’s chairman, who previously handled a leadership change at Morgan Stanley.

Disney has confirmed the committee is holding regular meetings but has not shared other details. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment further.

D’Amaro, who has overseen Disney’s parks and experiences business since 2020, is seen by many as the strongest candidate.

His division includes theme parks, cruise ships, and consumer products, and has become Disney’s biggest source of profit. Through the first nine months of fiscal 2025, the business earned $8.12 billion, more than all of Disney’s TV, film, streaming, and sports operations combined.

Disney is also betting heavily on this part of the company’s future. It has set aside as much as $60 billion over the next ten years to expand resorts, build new attractions, add cruise ships, and open its first licensed theme park in the Middle East. D’Amaro also oversees Disney’s $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite.

In recent months, D’Amaro has been increasingly visible at public events. He stood alongside Iger and Mickey Mouse at the New York Stock Exchange to mark Disneyland’s 70th anniversary. He attended Hollywood premieres, joined investor conferences, and even showed up at Netflix’s advertising event to talk with executives, according to Bloomberg.

At South by Southwest, he appeared on a panel about the future of storytelling with Alan Bergman.

Dana Walden, meanwhile, has built her reputation on steering Disney’s TV and streaming operations. Along with Bergman, she helped Disney+ move into profitability after years of losses. Walden has also been building relationships with Wall Street, speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference and appearing on CNBC’s Mad Money earlier this year.

Many insiders now view the competition as a two-person race between D’Amaro and Walden. Bergman and Pitaro are still in the running but are considered less likely to land the top job, according to executives who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

As Iger’s tenure winds down, the decision on his successor is being watched closely, not only inside Disney but across the wider media world. Whoever takes the role will inherit a company balancing a struggling entertainment division with a booming parks business, while also trying to adapt to fast changes in how audiences consume TV and film.

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