Disney CEO to be named in 2026; Gorman will become chairman of the board of directors next year

disney has tapped James Gorman to replace Mark Parker as the company’s next president, effective in January, as the media giant lays the groundwork to name a successor to CEO Bob Iger in early 2026, the company said Monday. .

Gorman joined Disney’s board of directors less than a year ago and was named head of the succession planning committee in August. He will continue to lead that committee after he takes over as chairman, replacing Nike CEO Parker.

“Disney’s board has benefited greatly from James Gorman’s experience and guidance, and we are fortunate to have him as our next chairman, especially as the board continues to move forward with the succession process,” Iger said in a statement. “I am extremely grateful to Mark Parker for his many years of leadership and board service, which have been so valuable to this company and its shareholders, and to me as CEO.”

Parker will step down from his role after nine years on Disney’s board of directors “to focus on other areas” of his work, according to a statement from Disney. That includes spending more time working on Nike-Related matters, according to a person familiar with the matter. Elliott Hill took over as CEO of Nike last week, replacing John Donahoe.

Disney had initially targeted 2025 to announce a successor, as CNBC reported last year. Pushing the date back to early 2026 will give the board more time to conduct due diligence on internal and external candidates, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Gorman has experience in succession planning: He oversaw the orderly transfer of power at Morgan Stanley, and Ted Pick succeeded him as CEO there earlier this year.

Succession has not been easy at Disney. The board fired Iger’s hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek, in November 2022 after a turbulent tenure that lasted less than three years. Iger returned to the CEO role and now Disney shareholders are eager to see a succession plan come to fruition.

All four of Iger’s direct reports – ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, Disney Experiences president Josh D’Amaro, and Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bergman – have met with the succession committee in the recent weeks, since Gorman took office in August, according to people familiar.

Gorman said in a CNBC interview in March, before taking over as board succession chairman, that Disney was running a “forward-looking, forward-leaning, incredibly disciplined process.”

Still, while setting a specific timeline for naming a successor adds some clarity to the search, it also means the question of who will replace Iger will continue to hang over the company for another year.

Iger has postponed his retirement on five different occasions to continue leading Disney as CEO. Activist investor Nelson Peltz focused on the board’s failure to name a lasting successor in his unsuccessful campaign for board seats earlier this year.

Iger’s current contract as CEO runs through Dec. 31, 2026. He and the board have not decided whether Iger will extend his term on the board beyond 2026, people familiar said.