by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:15 AM ET, Tue October 22, 2024
Disney unveiled a new succession plan on Monday that would
call for the entertainment giant to name a new chief executive officer in early
2026 to replace current leader Bob Iger.
According to Yahoo
Finance, Disney’s search for a new CEO will be led by the company’s succession
planning committee, which will consist of former Morgan Stanley CEO James
Gorman, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, and Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald.
“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new CEO,
which we now expect to announce in early 2026,” Gorman said. “This timing
reflects the progress the Succession Planning Committee and the Board are
making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the
conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract in December 2026.”
In addition to the changes at CEO, Disney announced that Gorman
will serve as the board's new chairman, effective January 2, 2025. The industry
veteran revealed he would exit his role as executive chairman at Morgan Stanley
on December 31.
Gorman will replace former Nike CEO Mark Parker as chairman,
who will vacate his board position after nine years. names being rumored as
possible CEO replacements include Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, Josh D’Amaro,
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs.
The succession plans this time for Disney are very
important, as the last time Iger retired, the man who replaced him, Bob Chapek,
was viewed as a failure within the industry. The company’s latest reports
indicate that the theme park business has slowed, and the brand is looking for
a shot in the arm.
“I think it would be safe to assume that I think about [CEO
succession] all the time," Iger said earlier this summer. “I could say
that 'I'm obsessed with it' would be probably an understatement, and actually,
the board and I established when I returned that that would be among our
biggest, if not our biggest, [priorities].”
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