Bob Iger will soon vacate his CEO position at Disney for a new successor. Though currently still at the helm of the mass media and entertainment company, Iger recently shared some words of advice for his unnamed replacement.
Disney CEO Bob Iger asks successor not to ‘preserve the status quo’
During Disney‘s fiscal first-quarter earnings call on Monday, Iger noted that the next CEO should seek to “change and evolve” along with the times (via TheWrap).
“I believe that in the world that changes as much as it does that in some form or another, trying to preserve the status quo is a mistake, and I’m certain that my successor will not do that,” the 74-year-old media veteran said before adding, “So they’ll be handed, I think, a good hand in terms of the strength of the company, a number of opportunities to grow, and also the exhortation that in a world that changes, you also have to continue to change and evolve.”
Notably, many see Disney’s Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro as the frontrunner to succeed Iger as the company’s CEO. Other probable candidates for the position include Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, and ESPN chairman James Pitaro.
Disney board’s succession planning committee, which includes chairman James Gorman and directors Mary Barra, Jeremy Darroch, and Calvin McDonald, is leading the proceedings to find Iger’s successor, whose contract runs through the end of the year. Nevertheless, the committee plans to announce the next Disney CEO in early 2026, with reports suggesting that the board will vote on the matter later this week.
Having rejoined Disney as its CEO in 2022, Iger believes he will be leaving it in better condition than when he inherited it. “The good news is that the company is in much better shape today than it was three years ago, because we have done a lot of fixing, but we’ve also put in place a number of opportunities, including the investment across our experiences business to essentially expand in every location we do business and on the high seas,” he noted.
