The lengthy search to search out Bob Iger’s successor is over (once more)—and the subsequent CEO can be a sculptor turned government.
Disney introduced that Josh D’Amaro—chairman of Disney Experiences, overseeing the corporate’s theme parks, cruises, and client merchandise—will take the helm of the almost $200 billion leisure conglomerate subsequent month.
D’Amaro has spent almost three a long time climbing the Mickey Mouse company ladder, however taking up Predominant Road USA wasn’t at all times a part of the plan. The 54-year-old has stated uncertainty, not a grasp plan, has guided a lot of his profession.
After rising up in Massachusetts, D’Amaro enrolled at Skidmore School desiring to turn out to be a sculptor. However one night time on the finish of his sophomore yr modified all the pieces. D’Amaro discovered himself welding a 12-foot sculpture at 2 a.m., wrestling with a really grownup query: How would he ever assist a household as an artist?
D’Amaro completed the piece—an summary human determine reaching towards the sky—however quickly made the manager resolution to pivot to a brand new profession. He transferred to Georgetown College and pursued an undergraduate diploma in enterprise administration.
“In my head, I was going to be an artist—I was painting, sculpting, and studying art with a bit of business on the side,” D’Amaro instructed Georgetown college students final yr. “I loved it, but I realized I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do when I got out.”
That early second of uncertainty would go on to form his management philosophy. D’Amaro has revealed he doesn’t imagine in pretending to have all of the solutions: A few of his most necessary development got here from admitting when he didn’t.
“The moment you say, ‘I don’t know,’ is one of the most freeing, liberating, invigorating feelings you can have,” D’Amaro added. “More than that—people respond to it. They want to talk to you, give you advice, pull you in. You’re not just empowering yourself, you’re empowering the people around you.”
An early profession misstep could form how D’Amaro approaches the CEO job
D’Amaro spoke to Fortune in 2024 from his workplace on Disney’s studio lot in Burbank, Calif., the place a sketch of Cinderella’s fortress held on one wall and 5 black-and-white pictures of Walt Disney lined one other—a every day reminder of the legacy and alternative earlier than him.
“I look past my computer to those photographs every day,” he stated, “to remember the responsibility that I have.”
That sense of stewardship is prone to form how D’Amaro approaches his new job as he prepares to formally take the reins from Iger on March 18. However he isn’t prone to enact sweeping adjustments on day one. As an alternative, he approaches each new position with the identical mindset: Begin by listening.
“There’s gravity to a business card with a title on it. You start to take on that identity, but that’s not who you are,” D’Amaro instructed Georgetown college students. “Now, every time I walk into a new job, I say, ‘I don’t know.’ But I know you do, and I know I can help.”
That lesson got here to D’Amaro from an early profession misstep—when he incorrectly suggested workers at his first assembly after a serious promotion.
“Afterward, I asked the senior leaders: ‘Why didn’t anyone say anything?’ And they said: ‘You didn’t ask.’ I didn’t even stop to say, ‘Hey, I’m just Josh. I don’t really know what the hell I’m doing.’ If I had said that, the room would’ve come alive,” D’Amaro stated. “They would’ve said: ‘We’ve got 10 ideas no one’s heard yet—let’s go.’”
Finally, being open to the unknown, the Disney CEO stated, has critically formed his profession and his life.
“One of the things I tell my kids is, ‘Just say yes.’ If someone offers you something a little unfamiliar, say yes. There’s so much serendipity in life—you’ve got to open yourself up and explore,” D’Amaro stated. “Everything is never lined up perfectly…Sometimes you just have to hold your breath and go for it.”
Disney’s new CEO is ready to fill massive footwear left by Bob Iger
D’Amaro is getting into one of many largest jobs in media and into the shadow of a frontrunner lengthy synonymous with Disney.
The brand new CEO and outgoing government Iger are “eerily similar,” the New York Instances reported, pointing to their related demeanor and deep identification with the Disney model. They even share the identical birthday: Feb. 10.
The comparability additionally underscores the stakes of the position. Iger first served as CEO from 2005 to 2020 however was introduced again in 2022 after the rocky tenure of successor Bob Chapek. In acing the highest job, Iger was recognized for his all-consuming work ethic, typically beginning his day at 4 a.m. and dealing late into the night. His ties to the corporate stretch again almost 5 a long time, starting as a weatherman for an ABC station in Ithaca, N.Y.—years earlier than Disney acquired ABC in 1996.
Although the position comes with huge expectations, it additionally comes with nice reward. D’Amaro’s whole compensation package deal is anticipated to be about $38 million. Compared, Iger earned simply over $45 million in compensation in 2025—up over 45% from his $31 million package deal in 2023, in keeping with the Walt Disney Firm’s SEC filings.
Iger credited his rise to 3 issues: onerous work, nice mentors, and nice luck. He has additionally made it clear management is about incomes respect—not chasing approval.
“If you try to run a popularity contest, then you don’t make the tough decisions,” Iger stated at Bloomberg’s World Enterprise Discussion board in 2019. “I think you have to be fair, accessible, and communicative—but popularity is not one of them.”
For D’Amaro—who already has a following amongst Disney’s most devoted followers—the duty now could be to hold that legacy ahead whereas defining his personal period, balancing continuity with change at a pivotal second for the corporate.
