The Walt Disney Company
Leadership History
10 leaders · 1966 to present
Josh D'Amaro is the CEO of Disney, in the role since 2026. The first chief executive was Roy O. Disney, from 1966.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh D'Amaro | Chief Executive Officer | 2026 | Present | < 1 |
| Dana Walden | President and Chief Creative Officer | 2026 | Present | < 1 |
| James Gorman | Chairman of the Board | 2025 | Present | 1 |
| Bob Chapek | Former Chief Executive Officer | 2020 | 2022 | 2 |
| Bob Iger | Former Chief Executive Officer | 2005 | 2026 | 21 |
| Raymond Watson | Chief Executive Officer | 1984 | 1984 | < 1 |
| Michael Eisner | Chief Executive Officer | 1984 | 2005 | 21 |
| Card Walker | Chief Executive Officer | 1980 | 1983 | 3 |
| Donn Tatum | Chief Executive Officer | 1971 | 1980 | 9 |
| Roy O. Disney | Chief Executive Officer | 1966 | 1971 | 5 |
The Walt Disney Company is one of the world's largest entertainment companies by revenue, with $94.4 billion in fiscal 2025 sales and about 231,000 employees. It owns Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, ABC, ESPN, Disney+, Hulu, six global park resort destinations (some operated or licensed with partners) and Disney Cruise Line. The company's economics have shifted: theme parks and cruises now generate most of its operating profit, streaming has moved from losses to profit, and traditional TV is shrinking. Josh D'Amaro, former head of Disney Experiences, succeeded Bob Iger as CEO on March 18, 2026. The company is headquartered in Burbank, California.
Chief Executive Officer
2026 – Present
0 years (current)
Became CEO on March 18, 2026 after serving as chairman of Disney Experiences, where he oversaw parks, cruises and consumer products. As CEO he has promoted a 'One Disney' strategy to align divisions around franchises and has led cost cuts across HR, technology, marketing and other units.
President and Chief Creative Officer
2026 – Present
0 years (current)
Walden oversaw Disney's massive television and streaming content portfolio, managing the integration of 21st Century Fox's television studios into Disney's ecosystem.
She significantly expanded Disney's adult-oriented programming on Hulu and navigated the aggressive shift from linear television revenue to direct-to-consumer streaming models.
Chairman of the Board
2025 – Present
1 year (current)
Gorman was appointed to the board to lead the critical CEO succession planning process, leveraging his experience executing Morgan Stanley's leadership transition.
He stabilized the board during ongoing activist proxy battles and focused the company on finding a long-term successor to Bob Iger.
Former Chief Executive Officer
2020 – 2022
2 years
Chapek became CEO in February 2020, weeks before COVID-19 closed Disney's parks, cruises and theaters. He reorganized content and distribution to prioritize Disney+ and pushed films to streaming during the pandemic.
Disney+ subscriptions grew rapidly during his tenure, but streaming losses, a dispute with Scarlett Johansson over Black Widow and Disney's conflict with Florida officials weighed on his standing. The board replaced him with Bob Iger in November 2022.
Former Chief Executive Officer
2005 – 2026
21 years
Iger was CEO from 2005 to 2020 and again from November 2022 to March 2026. He bought Pixar (2006), Marvel (2009), Lucasfilm (2012) and 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets (2019), opened Shanghai Disney Resort (2016), launched Disney+ (2019), and on his return reorganized the company into Entertainment, ESPN and Experiences while cutting costs.
Iger turned Disney into a franchise owner with Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar at its core and moved it into direct-to-consumer streaming. His second term focused on making streaming profitable, defeating Trian's 2024 proxy fight and completing CEO succession.
Chief Executive Officer
1984 – 1984
0 years
Raymond Watson served as chief executive of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 1984.
Chief Executive Officer
1984 – 2005
21 years
Michael Eisner served as chief executive of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2005.
Chief Executive Officer
1980 – 1983
3 years
Card Walker served as chief executive of The Walt Disney Company from 1980 to 1983.
Chief Executive Officer
1971 – 1980
9 years
Donn Tatum served as chief executive of The Walt Disney Company from 1971 to 1980.
Chief Executive Officer
1966 – 1971
5 years
Roy O. Disney served as chief executive of The Walt Disney Company from 1966 to 1971.
These officers report to the chief executive and are not part of the CEO timeline above.
Disney's biggest pressures are structural. Linear TV networks keep losing pay-TV subscribers and advertising, and Disney stopped breaking out linear network results in 2026. ESPN's sports rights costs rise under long contracts while its cable base shrinks, so the direct-to-consumer service has to replace affiliate fees. The film slate swings earnings year to year; Q4 FY2025 Entertainment operating income fell 35% on tough comparisons with Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Experiences depends on consumer travel budgets, and Universal's Epic Universe in Orlando added direct competition in 2025. The stock is also a question mark: at about $180 billion in market value in late September 2026, Disney traded well below its 2021 peak. In 2026 the company cut jobs in three rounds, including roughly 1,000 roles in April and about 300 HR and technology roles in September.
Bob Iger served as CEO of Disney from 2005 to 2020 and returned as CEO in November 2022, and handed over to Josh D'Amaro on March 18, 2026. Iger transformed Disney into a global entertainment colossus by acquiring Pixar (2006), Marvel (2009), Lucasfilm (2012), and 21st Century Fox (2019), opening Shanghai Disney Resort (2016), and launching Disney+ (2019).
Bob Chapek served as CEO from February 2020 to November 2022, having previously led Disney Parks. Chapek guided the company through devastating COVID-19 theme park closures, but faced public controversies and mounting streaming losses that led the board to reinstate Bob Iger.
Michael Eisner served as CEO from 1984 to 2005. Alongside Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg, Eisner revitalized Disney, orchestrating the 'Disney Renaissance' with animated classics (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King), expanding theme parks globally, and acquiring ABC/ESPN in 1996.
Roy O. Disney (Walt's older brother) served as Disney's chief financial architect and first CEO until 1971. Roy secured the financing for all of Walt's creative visions and postponed his retirement to personally oversee the construction and opening of Walt Disney World in Florida in October 1971.
James Gorman, the former Morgan Stanley CEO, chairs Disney's Board of Directors. He led the board during the succession process that chose Josh D'Amaro in February 2026.
Josh D'Amaro is CEO, Dana Walden is President and Chief Creative Officer, and Hugh Johnston is Chief Financial Officer. D'Amaro previously chaired Disney Experiences, and Walden previously co-chaired Disney Entertainment.
Disney's board, chaired by James Gorman, ran a multi-year succession search that considered internal and external candidates. On February 2, 2026 it voted unanimously to elect D'Amaro as CEO effective March 18, 2026, with Bob Iger becoming a senior advisor.
In his book, Bob Iger emphasizes four core leadership pillars: focus on creative quality, embracing technology rather than fighting it, thinking globally, and leading with optimism, courage, decisiveness, and integrity.
Bob Chapek was brutally ousted in 2022 after less than three years as CEO. He deeply angered Hollywood talent, massively raised theme park prices (alienating core fans), and oversaw massive streaming losses. The board panicked and immediately brought back the legendary former CEO, Bob Iger.
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