Josh D’Amaro Is Taking Over as Disney’s Next CEO

TL;DR: Josh D’Amaro, the executive who runs Disney’s parks, resorts, and cruise business, will replace Bob Iger as CEO on March 18. The move signals Disney’s focus on its most reliable business as parks and experiences continue to drive profits while media and streaming face uncertainty.

Disney is changing leaders again.

Josh D’Amaro, who currently runs the company’s theme parks and cruise line, will replace Bob Iger as CEO at the annual shareholder meeting on March 18.

If you follow Disney even a little, this probably doesn’t feel shocking. His name has been floating around for years as the likely successor.

And honestly, it makes sense.

Right now, D’Amaro oversees Disney’s parks, resorts, cruises, and vacation businesses. That division pulls in roughly $36 billion a year. It’s the most dependable part of the company. Movies can flop. Streaming numbers go up and down. But families still book trips to Disney.

So in many ways, he’s already been running the engine.

What he actually runs

It’s a long list.

Twelve parks around the world. Fifty-seven hotels. Disney Cruise Line. Disney Vacation Club. Adventures by Disney. Merchandise. And Walt Disney Imagineering, the team that designs all of it.

He also handles newer projects, like the partnership with Epic Games to build a Disney world inside Fortnite.

Basically, if it’s something you physically visit, stay in, or buy with Mickey on it, it likely rolls up to him.

He didn’t come from outside

D’Amaro isn’t some outside hire with a fancy résumé. He started at Disneyland back in 1998 and worked his way up.

Finance. Strategy. Operations. Then president of Walt Disney World. Now the entire experiences division.

People who work with him often say the same thing. He shows up. He walks the parks. He talks to cast members. He pays attention to small stuff.

That’s pretty different from the typical corner-office executive.

This wasn’t rushed

Disney says the board has been planning this transition for about three years.

D’Amaro and Dana Walden, who runs the entertainment side, were both seen as strong options. Walden will stay in a senior creative leadership role.

So this isn’t a last-minute handoff. It looks planned and deliberate.

The timing is a little tricky

It’s not all smooth sailing, though.

Disney recently warned that international travel to its U.S. parks has slowed. That matters, because overseas visitors tend to spend more per trip.

At the same time, Disney is pouring money into expansion. A new park in Abu Dhabi. More cruise ships. Big partnerships in gaming and sports.

So D’Amaro walks in with a healthy business, but also some pressure to keep growth moving.

Iger’s exit

Bob Iger is stepping down after almost 20 years across two separate runs as CEO.

He reshaped Disney in a big way. Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Fox all happened under his watch. Those deals changed what Disney even is.

In his statement, Iger called D’Amaro the right person for the job and praised his mix of creative instincts and operational discipline.

Corporate language aside, the message was simple. He trusts him.

What this probably means

Here’s the interesting part.

Putting a parks guy in charge tells you something about Disney’s priorities.

Streaming gets attention, but the parks are what consistently make money. They’re harder to copy and less risky than betting everything on the next hit show.

So don’t be surprised if Disney doubles down there.

More parks. More ships. More places you can actually go.

The future of Disney may be less about what you watch on your couch and more about where you book a flight.

And now the person who built that side of the business is running the whole company.