Disney Continues to Slow Play Bob Iger’s Succession Plan

Bob Iger’s successor won’t be getting named anytime soon. 

Disney announced Monday it will name its new chief executive in “early 2026,” and it said former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman will replace Mark Parker as board chairman effective Jan. 2, 2025. Parker is executive chairman of Nike.

Choosing Iger’s successor has been a top priority for the company since its previous succession turmoil. Iger’s contract expires at the end of 2026. 

In August, Gorman was named head of Disney’s succession planning. Iger, who returned to run Disney in 2022 after initially stepping away from the company in 2020, postponed retirement multiple times during his first run as CEO, which spanned 15 years. Bob Chapek succeeded Iger as CEO in early 2020, but he was fired about two years later. 

In an interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in November 2023, Iger said he was “definitely going to step down” at the end of his current contract. Iger is 73 and the 2026 timeline could simply be a punt on succession talks to avoid them becoming a distraction, at least for now. 

The top four candidates reportedly vying to succeed Iger are his direct reports: Disney television executive Dana Walden, theme parks and resorts chairman Josh D’Amaro, movie chief Alan Bergman, and ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro. The Disney board said on Monday external candidates are also being considered. NBA commissioner Adam Silver was reportedly a candidate to succeed Iger in March 2023, but he said he has “no intention of going anywhere” when asked about it. 

While announcing a specific timeline for the CEO decision adds a bit of clarity to the process, the question of whom Iger’s successor will be is going to loom over the company for at least a year.