Disney's Next CEO: Kevin Mayer Hints Bob Iger's Successor Will Be Revealed Soon

Jun 21, 2024 in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Bob Iger

Posted: Friday June 21, 2024 8:45am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance, Kevin Mayer, Candle Media co-founder and former Disney executive, shared insights into Disney CEO Bob Iger's ongoing succession planning.

Mayer, an advisor to Iger, also provided a glimpse into whether the current Disney boss may make one more big move before his planned departure at the end of 2026.

Bob Iger at Walt Disney World

Mayer believes that the company is well-prepared for a smooth transition this time around. "Bob's there for two and a half more years. There's plenty of time," Mayer stated. He highlighted what he believes is a strong management team already in place: "They have a very, very solid management team across the board."

There are four internal candidates reportedly in the running for the Disney CEO role, which Iger occupied from 2005 to 2020 before his return in November 2022: Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chiefs of the entertainment division; Josh D'Amaro, head of the parks division; and Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN.

As for the timeline, Mayer indicated that an announcement might come sooner rather than later. "We may know this year, but he's got two and a half more years, so it wouldn't surprise me if it extended a little bit beyond this calendar year," he said.

Speaking of the future, one of the intriguing aspects of Mayer's comments was the hint at Iger possibly making another significant strategic move before his departure. "Do I think he wants to do one more big thing before he leaves? Possibly." Mayer speculated. This raises the question of what kind of legacy-defining move Iger might still be considering, especially given his history of transformative acquisitions like Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox.

You can see the full interview at Yahoo Finance.

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SirwalterraleighMar 22, 2026

Naming an “internal” successor with a 25 year toil is not exactly a shot of adrenaline It’s not like we didn’t just see this….except of course we did I hope I’m totally wrong…which is often the case…but the first week was not arrow up

BagOfGroceriesMar 22, 2026

What happened is they named a successor, the successor is now in charge, and Bob was clearly ready to leave. He wouldn’t have thrown himself the celebration if he wasn’t. Sure, we don’t know if Josh will do a good job in the role, but treating Iger as the boogeyman isn’t gonna solve anything.

SirwalterraleighMar 20, 2026

So what has happened? You want the sad truth version?

BrianLoMar 19, 2026

Not the jokes. :) There were firm and unmovable beliefs that no successor would be named and his contract would be re-extended. These continued after they committed to the successor search and early 2026 timeline was announced as the boards target.

HauntedPirateMar 19, 2026

When will copious numbers of the “Thank You Bob!” button be available on eBay? Asking for a friend.

SirwalterraleighMar 19, 2026

It’s a terrible look. Someone can’t tell the difference between themself and their job It’s a forced attempt at a cult of personality Alot of That going around

SirwalterraleighMar 19, 2026

How are things in dimension X these days? 🤔

GimpYancIentMar 19, 2026

Move on? Leave? Gone? More like not in a position, readily visible, but lingering in the shadows, hanging around in the background lurking.

LSLSMar 19, 2026

I mean, he's not actually gone yet. And most of us were making jokes because he never really left before (and his short term return added what, like 2 or 3 years before he potentially moved on?).

HMFMar 19, 2026

Yes, so much so that I am 100% certain the person in the 2007 SSE garage scene is not supposed to be him. (sarcasm)

SirwalterraleighMar 19, 2026

You can be stale and run Starbucks…or an airline…or a brokerage Can you think of a company where stale is WORSE than Disney? I can’t think of one. They sell emotions…you have to constantly trigger them.

SirwalterraleighMar 19, 2026

He failed technology transition in a lot of ways… And all that other stuff was commitments that lead to over expansion…they weren’t capitalized to sustain it at that time. A couple of back to back recessions didn’t help much… Pixar was Eisner’s ego and temper. He didnt get along with Steve Jobs. Who Bob let dictate the direction of the whole operation for a couple years (he was scared of him)…and was bailed out by his death. Serendipity for bob. Actually…Bob had a lot of serendipity…the last 15 years the power brokers have “outlawed” recessions…which is dangerous and unnatural. But helps a company like Disney more than ANY. His luck has run dry a lot the last few years. The clover turned brown

BrianLoMar 19, 2026

So in the end: Iger left, a little early, on good terms, in a fairly organized and sign-posted fashion. Though I probably shouldn't expect any accountability of the missed predictions to the contrary.