Disney Board To Meet Next Week As CEO Succession Drama Nears Final Act

Disney‘s board of directors will meet next week with the drama over longtime CEO Bob Iger‘s successor reaching its final act.

A person familiar with the situation confirmed the board meeting to Deadline. The board typically meets in close proximity to the company’s earnings reports. Disney will report its fiscal first quarter earnings on Monday.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the board is “expected” to vote on succession next week. The New York Times also weighed in with a lengthy article focused on Josh D’Amaro, chair of the company’s Experience division, reporting that the succession process will reach its conclusion next week.

Iger’s contract runs through December 31. He will spend a period of time helping the new CEO get acclimated to the job, but has told associates that he plans to step down before the end of his contract, the Journal reported. It is not clear whether Iger will retain a seat on the Disney board after the end of his run as CEO.

Disney declined comment on the Journal report when contacted by Deadline.

Iger, 74, is in his second stint as CEO. He returned to the company in 2022 after a prior attempt at passing the baton went awry and Bob Chapek was ousted by the board after a rocky tenure. Iger’s first stint in the corner office, from 2006 to 2020, was widely acclaimed in the media business and throughout corporate America as he made a series of bold M&A moves and positioned the company for the streaming era.

Along with D’Amaro, Dana Walden, co-chairman of entertainment, has been considered a leading internal candidate for the role.

Disney chairman James Gorman, former CEO of Morgan Stanley, has spearheaded the succession process. Earlier Friday, the media giant hired another Morgan Stanley vet, analyst Ben Swinburne, to head investor relations. Swinburne will be a key part of the team communicating to Wall Street about the company’s post-Iger strategy and management team.

The succession process has been a closely watched, multiyear affair. Gorman assumed the chairman role last year after joining the board in 2024. He had won points on Wall Street for the way he managed his own exit from Morgan Stanley.