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Thursday, February 12, 2026
Disney names parks head Josh D'Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as CEO
PBS News: Disney has named its parks chief Josh D'Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as the entertainment giant's top executive.
D'Amaro is the Disney Experiences Chairman, spearheading efforts for the company's theme parks, cruises and resorts.
5 comments:
Jordan G
said...
Initially when I saw this article I clicked on it to see what changes might be coming to Disney and its media / parks. Unfortunately as I read the article it seems like their wont be major changes with this new CEO due to the fact that he was an internal hire as opposed to external. An externally hired CEO would have most definitely lead to noticeable changes in the company and its assets. Due to the fact that an external hire would be bringing new mindsets, plans, and ideas with them. This isn't to say that I think that Disney needs a total revamp, but from reading the article it dose seem like there are changes that they would like to see happen. It is also interesting but it makes sense to hear that Disney's Parks are being hurt by practices of the Trump administration regarding immigration, and that this mentality is leading to a decrease in tourism.
I believe that Bob Iger has been a great temporary CEO, but Disney is still unfortunately on a downhill trajectory with the exception of their parks. Josh D'Amaro has done a wonderful job running the parks and ensuring they are keeping the Disney image throughout the previous years, and I am extremely excited to see if he is able to get Disney back to where it was a few years ago pre-covid. I believe that he has a great sense of the overall business and how to get folks excited about changes and new developments, while also understanding the community behind Disney and what makes Disney Disney. I definitely see him turning this business around and making all elements of the Disney company operate the same way and profitability as the parks, along with bringing the creativity back to the Disney company. I am very curious to see the changes he makes and how long it takes.
This is awesome news. It is no secret that Disney as a company has taken some major falls recently. However, the experiences department, which Josh D’Amaro was in charge of, has remained a highlight! I think that he has done a great job with the domestic and international parks. People often criticize how pricey Disney parks have become, however they are still more packed than ever. People truly can not stay away from them, even with the hefty price tags. Disney really values these in person experiences obviously for the immense profits however even more importantly for driving up its brand loyalty. This results in even more profit in other sectors of their company. I have a feeling that Disney is on the rise again. They have recently had some major film hits, which is a great sign as they haven't had too many in recent years. I don't think that Bob Iger was bad, but I think D’Amaro is the strong leader that this titan of a company needs!
I think that although disney has been putting out some box office hits it seems a bit short lived as all their billion dollar movies have been sequels or remakes of some sort and that just isn't sustainable, they can't keep putting out all these sequels banking on consumer nostalgia even if it seems to be working currently. The parks have always been one of their main sources of revenue so it makes sense that their new ceo would be tied to them(the parks bring in billions every year and i dont think thats gonna stop anytime soon), however i do think having a ceo whose main experiences relate to the parks and resorts doesn't make too much sense because disney as a company is so much more than that, the movies, shows, merch, streaming, games, disney as a company has so many types of media and has their hands dipped in a lot of things so i think a ceo of this company really needs to understand all of .
I’m cautiously optimistic about this change in leadership at Disney. The last time Bob Iger was succeeded as CEO, by Bob Chapek, the company swiftly descended into disaster as they endured enormous losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Josh D’Amaro seems a little bit different than Chapek, given that he seems to have led the parks with more emphasis being placed on creatives than on spreadsheets. It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, he makes to the company’s overall operations, as he seems to be working very closely with Iger throughout the transition. Regardless, it certainly seems like it’s an exciting time at Disney, with so much expansion on the way at Disney World and across the world. The choice of Dana Walden as President and Chief Creative Officer is also interesting, as she seemingly has a background in business, rather than design, film, or some other creative field, so the CCO post for her is strange. Regardless, it seems like between Walden and D’Amaro, the company should at least be able to hold steady this time.
5 comments:
Initially when I saw this article I clicked on it to see what changes might be coming to Disney and its media / parks. Unfortunately as I read the article it seems like their wont be major changes with this new CEO due to the fact that he was an internal hire as opposed to external. An externally hired CEO would have most definitely lead to noticeable changes in the company and its assets. Due to the fact that an external hire would be bringing new mindsets, plans, and ideas with them. This isn't to say that I think that Disney needs a total revamp, but from reading the article it dose seem like there are changes that they would like to see happen. It is also interesting but it makes sense to hear that Disney's Parks are being hurt by practices of the Trump administration regarding immigration, and that this mentality is leading to a decrease in tourism.
I believe that Bob Iger has been a great temporary CEO, but Disney is still unfortunately on a downhill trajectory with the exception of their parks. Josh D'Amaro has done a wonderful job running the parks and ensuring they are keeping the Disney image throughout the previous years, and I am extremely excited to see if he is able to get Disney back to where it was a few years ago pre-covid. I believe that he has a great sense of the overall business and how to get folks excited about changes and new developments, while also understanding the community behind Disney and what makes Disney Disney. I definitely see him turning this business around and making all elements of the Disney company operate the same way and profitability as the parks, along with bringing the creativity back to the Disney company. I am very curious to see the changes he makes and how long it takes.
This is awesome news. It is no secret that Disney as a company has taken some major falls recently. However, the experiences department, which Josh D’Amaro was in charge of, has remained a highlight! I think that he has done a great job with the domestic and international parks. People often criticize how pricey Disney parks have become, however they are still more packed than ever. People truly can not stay away from them, even with the hefty price tags. Disney really values these in person experiences obviously for the immense profits however even more importantly for driving up its brand loyalty. This results in even more profit in other sectors of their company. I have a feeling that Disney is on the rise again. They have recently had some major film hits, which is a great sign as they haven't had too many in recent years. I don't think that Bob Iger was bad, but I think D’Amaro is the strong leader that this titan of a company needs!
I think that although disney has been putting out some box office hits it seems a bit short lived as all their billion dollar movies have been sequels or remakes of some sort and that just isn't sustainable, they can't keep putting out all these sequels banking on consumer nostalgia even if it seems to be working currently. The parks have always been one of their main sources of revenue so it makes sense that their new ceo would be tied to them(the parks bring in billions every year and i dont think thats gonna stop anytime soon), however i do think having a ceo whose main experiences relate to the parks and resorts doesn't make too much sense because disney as a company is so much more than that, the movies, shows, merch, streaming, games, disney as a company has so many types of media and has their hands dipped in a lot of things so i think a ceo of this company really needs to understand all of .
I’m cautiously optimistic about this change in leadership at Disney. The last time Bob Iger was succeeded as CEO, by Bob Chapek, the company swiftly descended into disaster as they endured enormous losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Josh D’Amaro seems a little bit different than Chapek, given that he seems to have led the parks with more emphasis being placed on creatives than on spreadsheets. It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, he makes to the company’s overall operations, as he seems to be working very closely with Iger throughout the transition. Regardless, it certainly seems like it’s an exciting time at Disney, with so much expansion on the way at Disney World and across the world. The choice of Dana Walden as President and Chief Creative Officer is also interesting, as she seemingly has a background in business, rather than design, film, or some other creative field, so the CCO post for her is strange. Regardless, it seems like between Walden and D’Amaro, the company should at least be able to hold steady this time.
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