Disney names Josh D’Amaro as new CEO
Disney has finally ended its three-year search for a new CEO to replace Bob Iger with Josh D’Amaro set to take over the role.
The news was revealed on February 3rd, a little over a month before Iger steps down from the top position at the company on March 18th. He first held the job from 2005 until 2020, and then again from 2022 until now.
The appointment of the new CEO brings to an end a three-year search from the company to find the next person to take its reins. D’Amaro is set to take over having already served 28 years working for Disney, in which he is currently the chairperson of its Experiences division, overseeing its chain of theme parks.
The Disney Parks have generated over $36 billion in revenue between its 12 global theme parks and 54 resorts within the past year, hence explaining the decision to hire D’Amaro as he currently heads the most profitable division of the company, according to BBC News.
As part of the announcement of the new takeover, outgoing CEO Iger said he was “proud to step away at a moment when Disney’s future has never been brighter”.
It comes at a time when the entertainment giant is, like most companies, attempting to bridge the gap between traditional media and the streaming age, as well as the advancement of new technologies.
To this end, Disney announced last month that it has made an equity investment of $1 billion into OpenAI, meaning that over 200 of its characters from each of the Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars franchises will be able to use within the AI firm’s video generation tool, Sora.
At the time, Iger said the move would put “imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before”, providing audiences with “richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love”.
However, there are many other issues which Disney is currently facing, including having to endure political pressure last year for its controversial decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel from his talk show on its television network ABC, over comments he made after the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
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