Bob Iger Plans to Step Down as Disney CEO Before Contract Ends, WSJ Reports

13 days ago in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Bob Iger at Walt Disney World

Posted: Friday January 30, 2026 5:45pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Bob Iger plans to step down as Disney CEO before his contract expires on December 31 2026, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

The Disney board of directors will meet next week at the company's Burbank headquarters, where they are expected to vote on Iger's successor, the WSJ reports.

Bob Iger at Walt Disney World

Iger Ready to Move On?

According to the WSJ, Iger has told associates in recent months that he is ready to step back from the demands of running Disney. The report cites frustration over conflicts at ABC, including the brief suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

People familiar with Iger's thinking told the WSJ he wants to spend more time on personal interests and working with his wife Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Iger and Bay purchased Angel City FC, a women's soccer team, in 2024.

Transition Timeline

The exact timing of Iger's departure has not been finalized and could change, according to the WSJ. The report indicates Iger will likely remain CEO for several months after the company announces his successor to provide mentoring. He may retain a board position or other role at Disney after the transition.

Iger told one associate he wanted to give his successor a "fresh start" rather than staying until the end of the year, which he felt would make the transition more difficult, the WSJ reports.

Two Finalists for CEO

According to the WSJ, the CEO race has narrowed to two internal candidates:

Josh D'Amaro - Chairman of Experiences, overseeing theme parks, consumer products, and videogames
Dana Walden - Entertainment co-chairman and veteran television executive

Both executives presented their visions for Disney's future to the board in August, as previously reported by the WSJ. Many believe D'Amaro is the front runner, according to the report.

Carefully Managed Succession

Disney's board, led by former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, has kept the succession process tightly controlled. This approach differs from 2020, when Iger served as board chairman and drove the decision to name Bob Chapek as his successor.

That transition proved problematic. Iger stepped down as CEO in February 2020 after 15 years, with Chapek taking over. Iger remained as executive chairman to advise Chapek, but the two clashed frequently during the pandemic. The board ousted Chapek in November 2022 and brought Iger back for a second stint as CEO.

In a recent public filing, Disney's board said it would announce its decision in the current quarter. The filing noted that internal candidates are receiving mentoring from Iger and external coaches.

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Andrew C7 days ago

A nice feel-good letter.

Andrew C7 days ago

US recession odds have fallen over the last 4 months. And are way off April's high.

DCBaker7 days ago

A note from Bob Iger to D23 Members:

Disney Irish9 days ago

To add to that, if it was really about all that he would be leaving immediately and not next month, and then wouldn't be sticking around in an advisory role for the next 10 months.

Dranth9 days ago

The only mention in those files according to the summary on google was from a disgruntled investor who, in exchange for "information", wanted a favor from the DoJ involving going after Disney to settle a grudge (100% wild guess, but I am going with Peltz or Perlmutter). Other than that, nothing. Who knows though, there certainly are a lot of people who protested and denied a good bit that turned out to be full of it and even more that few would have pegged as being in there directly and yet they were. Anyway, just my guess, but I think a big part of this is him looking at the politics you have to play as a business to avoid a target on your back and just didn't want to deal with it. Combine that with the increasing risk of a recession, and he likely thought it was just a good time to get out.

djkidkaz9 days ago

I think Josh will be great for the parks. He definitely has some level of knowing what the theme park fan community wants. It’s not coincidence that we are getting a villain’s land and a monsters inc door coaster which had been talked about for like 20 years.

wannabeBelle9 days ago

Quite possibly. The basically jist of the discussion was that Bob knows something is up and he wants out like NOW. Marie

LSLS9 days ago

Eh, disagree there. He retired like that day out of the blue when all that stuff was hitting. If we are going into reasons outside of just wanting to be done, I do think the idea that the summer is not looking good makes a lot of sense. Or real conspiracy, could be this quarter is looking really bad and he wants out before those numbers hit.

Tom P.9 days ago

So Bob knows we're about to have another pandemic?

wannabeBelle9 days ago

I was watching a podcast that was speculating as to why the rush for Bob to leave now. One thought was that there is something in some files that were recently released that may have been not so favorable to Bob and the company would prefer he was gone. The other thought was that this has happened before when Covid hit and closed down everything. Bob had retired about a month or so before and the podcaster was saying this feels very similar. The two could be linked as well. We shall see....... Marie

MR.Dis9 days ago

If I was to guess, Disney BOD wanted him to stay to steady nerves on Wall Street to keep the stock price from full free fall.

HMF9 days ago

That will likely be it's downfall.

el_super9 days ago

Nothing is going to change their desire to make money. People still want to retire someday and that requires turning a little sum of money into a larger sum of money.

Andrew C9 days ago

Was it normal the last time this played out for them? For optics sake, and to grow confidence in the ranks that Josh is the right person, he just needs to go.