It was round 5 within the morning on Disneyland’s seventieth birthday in the summertime of 2025, and tens of hundreds of staffers and company had arrived early to look at Josh D’Amaro and Bob Iger ring within the anniversary in the park’s esplanade.
D’Amaro, then the chairman of Disney Experiences — and quickly to be named the corporate’s CEO — was set to ship welcoming remarks onstage in entrance of the enduring backyard boasting 5,900 flowers planted within the form of Mickey Mouse’s face. A marching band was readily available to welcome the executives; Minnie and Goofy had been ready within the wings; Snow White, Chip ’n’ Dale and different beloved characters had been packed right into a prepare automobile able to be rolled alongside the tracks of the Disneyland Railroad; and a parade was scheduled to glide down Main Street. Cameras had been set as much as document the celebration for a gauzy particular on ABC.
Zohar Lazar for Variety
There was just one drawback: D’Amaro was nowhere to be discovered.
Handlers scrambled to search out the chairman of the parks as followers pushed in opposition to the gates. The executives had been set to ring the New York Stock Exchange bell and take a photograph with 36,000 solid members, and the clock was ticking.
Finally, the handlers positioned D’Amaro. He had slipped beneath the ropes and gone to the again of the crowd, and was strolling amongst clusters of staff shaking fingers and chatting. “That’s a custom of his — to always go to the people furthest from the stage and do his Josh thing,” says Marcus Buckingham, a management knowledgeable who shadowed D’Amaro for his upcoming ebook, “Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business.”
There’s a phrase that’s used across the Magic Kingdom to explain this phenomenon: “the Josh Effect.” D’Amaro — tall, slender and silver-haired — has a politician’s skill to make anybody he encounters really feel seen and heard.
“He’s so relatable,” says Joe Gavigan, a 25-year veteran of the parks division. “He looks people in the eye. He’s extremely confident but not cocky.”
D’Amaro can also be fiercely aggressive. When Gavigan and D’Amaro labored for Disney in Hong Kong, they performed tennis virtually weekly. Despite his aura of affability, D’Amaro fought to win each match.
The 55-year-old govt might want to present that very same drive as he takes on the most important problem of his profession; Iger, who grew to become CEO in 2005, will hand him the keys to the Mouse House on March 18. Though The Walt Disney Co. stays essentially the most storied model in Hollywood, the leisure panorama it as soon as dominated is shifting dramatically, forcing D’Amaro and the corporate he’ll result in adapt with it.
Disney’s rivals not solely embrace conventional media conglomerates like Comcast that make their cash by producing and distributing movies and TV reveals, however streaming giants equivalent to Netflix which have reworked the way in which that folks watch them. That’s to say nothing of tech gamers like Apple and Amazon, which have muscled their approach into the enterprise by launching their very own streaming companies. And then there’s YouTube and TikTok, that are siphoning off youthful viewers at a dizzying fee with user-generated content material.
“Disney and Josh have to get Hollywood back in the center of gravity of our culture,” says Kevin Mayer, former head of Disney’s world streaming enterprise and co-CEO of Candle Media.
But viral movies could not have the identical tsunamic affect as synthetic intelligence, which Disney continues to be making an attempt to navigate, participating in authorized battles over copyright with some startups within the house whereas investing $1 billion in OpenAI. Animation is synonymous with Disney’s model, and AI is lowering the price of producing these films. However, it is usually flattening the taking part in area, permitting customers to create animated work with out the backing of a significant studio. It will take a deft hand to navigate AI, an inevitable power and but a significant level of sensitivity within the artistic neighborhood. Iger has described D’Amaro as somebody who views know-how as a chance somewhat than a menace.
“You’re seeing it supercharge these creatives in amazing ways,” D’Amaro, who declined to be interviewed for this story, instructed Disney-owned ABC News. “If you were to walk over to their studios today and see them using AI, harnessing 70 years of history, this is when The Walt Disney Co. thrives — when technology intersects with brilliant people and creativity.”
Disney has lengthy maintained that its library of animated characters, from Cinderella to Stitch — in addition to the manufacturers that Iger snapped up throughout his tenure as CEO, equivalent to Marvel and “Star Wars” — enabled the corporate to overpower the competitors. That could also be true. However, they can’t alter the truth that the shift to streaming is resulting in the collapse of the cable enterprise, depriving Disney of a significant supply of its earnings.
Cable is uniquely worthwhile and thus almost not possible to exchange. Disney not solely brings in subscription and advert income from its cable channels, but additionally pockets retransmission charges from operators paying to broadcast its programming. Viewers could also be signing up for Disney+ and the corporate’s different streaming companies in better numbers, however that enterprise barely breaks even, and the cash that Disney is producing pales as compared with what it as soon as constituted of cable.
“The problem Josh faces is the one we’re all struggling to solve: How do you manage the decline of cable and replace those earnings with streaming?” says one rival leisure firm chief. “You have to oversee that transition while simultaneously finding ways to grow your business.”
D’Amaro, who joined Disney in 1998 as a gross sales and advertising and marketing exec, was tapped to guide the corporate as a result of his a part of the Magic Kingdom is rising. Last quarter, Disney Experiences, which incorporates the parks, cruise ships, resorts and client merchandise, topped $10 billion in income for the primary time in its historical past. Even extra spectacular, beneath D’Amaro, that division was answerable for 71% of Disney’s working earnings. In distinction, D’Amaro’s rivals for the CEO job — Dana Walden and Alan Bergman — got here from the leisure division, which noticed earnings decline by 35%, and the working earnings of ESPN, led by Jimmy Pitaro, one other challenger, dropped by 23%.
“For a lot of folks on Wall Street, there’s a degree of comfort in Josh taking over the role,” says Kutgun Maral, media analyst at Evercore ISI.
During the primary of his two phrases as CEO, Iger opted to deploy Disney’s treasury to purchase Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, believing that the corporate with the best stockpile of mental property wins. How will D’Amaro make his mark now that he’s calling the pictures? It is probably not the type of transformative $71.3 billion deal that Iger signed to purchase twentieth Century Fox, provided that Disney is carrying greater than $45 billion in debt.
D’Amaro is a self-proclaimed risk-taker, and his strikes as parks chief provide some clues. Disney is breaking floor on a theme park in Abu Dhabi, its first attraction within the Middle East. At the identical time, D’Amaro efficiently pushed for the corporate to purchase a stake in Epic Games, believing that partnering with the “Fortnite” creator would introduce a brand new sandbox for Disney’s iconic IP. During a Q&A with Disney fan bloggers, D’Amaro teased how he hoped to lean into the gaming universe. “It could be a new film premiering [on ‘Fortnite’]. It could be the place that you decide to book your next cruise vacation,” he mentioned of Disney’s plans for the platform. “You could participate in the Super Bowl in some way there.”
Even as Disney strikes extra aggressively into gaming, it must get the Magic Kingdom so as. Analysts and rival corporations consider that a few of Disney’s most sturdy franchises all of a sudden look shaky. In partnership with Walden, who was promoted to the newly created position of president and chief content material officer, D’Amaro must concentrate on reviving every part from the superheroes to the sci-fi sequence. Overall, the corporate must develop new franchises to keep the flywheel impact that feeds into streaming and the theme parks. “Marvel is definitely in a rut,” Doug Creutz, an analyst with TD Cowen, says. “They haven’t had a ‘Star Wars’ movie in more than six years,” he says, whereas noting that “The Mandalorian & Grogu” is slated for a May launch.
Internally, there are issues that an unconventional 36-second Super Bowl spot for “The Mandalorian & Grogu” that featured the title characters driving a wagon pulled by Tauntauns did not generate the type of pleasure the advertising and marketing staff hoped to spark. The movie itself is one thing of a query mark, provided that it’s primarily based on a streaming sequence and, consequently, could not look like a big-screen proposition for any however essentially the most die-hard Baby Yoda lovers. There’s a way that “Star Wars: Starfighter,” a derivative from “Deadpool & Wolverine” director Shawn Levy, is extra more likely to fulfill followers when it hits theaters subsequent spring, with sources who’ve seen footage praising Ryan Gosling’s efficiency and suggesting Levy has recaptured the franchise’s spirit of enjoyable.
“Star Wars” isn’t the one franchise dealing with questions. Walden and D’Amaro may also must decide if Disney ought to proceed to fund James Cameron’s cinematic journeys to Pandora. The most up-to-date “Avatar” movie, final 12 months’s “Fire and Ash,” introduced in additional than $1.4 billion globally. That’s almost $1 billion lower than the earlier installment earned. Given the price of these movies, each “Avatar” installment must be large to interrupt even. “If you make $1 billion on the next movie, you still lose hundreds of millions,” notes one insider.
Rafa Alvarez
Then there’s Marvel, a crown jewel of the Disney empire. When Disney+ launched, the division was tasked with producing streaming reveals that tied in with the “Avengers” films. Some, equivalent to “WandaVision,” had been watercooler hits; others, like “She-Hulk,” struggled. The end result was oversaturation, resulting in viewers fatigue. Recent Marvel movies “Thunderbolts*” and “Captain America: Brave New World” fell far quick on the field workplace. Some pundits argue the way forward for the superhero franchise could journey on the hotly anticipated “Avengers: Doomsday,” though sources inside the corporate’s movie division consider the well being of the MCU doesn’t hinge on a person title. Executives are happy with what they’ve seen for the December launch, and rival studio heads privately predict “Doomsday” would be the 12 months’s highest-grossing movie.
If D’Amaro goes to revitalize Disney’s franchises, he should keep a wholesome relationship with Walden, thought-about to be one of many trade’s strongest artistic executives. After all, D’Amaro lacks any movie or TV expertise, one thing that bedeviled Bob Chapek when he was CEO for lower than three years. Unlike Chapek, who alienated Disney’s artistic divisions by having the media chiefs report back to his handpicked ally, Kareem Daniel, there’s a way that D’Amaro will strategy the duty with extra delicacy, giving Walden a degree of autonomy. “Josh is not afraid to surround himself with people who know more about something than he does,” says Spencer Neumann, a former Disney govt who now could be Netflix’s chief monetary officer.
Tom Staggs, co-CEO of Candle Media and a former head of Disney’s parks, says whereas D’Amaro hasn’t greenlit films or TV reveals, he has an intimate understanding of what audiences need to see. “There’s not much difference between what a guest at the parks wants and what the audience wants,” he says. “It’s all part of the same equation.”
Chapek did not make inroads with the brokers and filmmakers who’re very important to the manufacturing of Disney’s films and reveals. His authorized battle with Scarlett Johansson over the corporate’s resolution to ship “Black Widow” to streaming in the course of the pandemic did nothing to endear him to the creative neighborhood. Disney’s board, trying to keep away from one other blunder, opted to advertise Walden so she may function a cultural ambassador for D’Amaro. That has reassured lots of the showrunners who cast deep bonds with Walden throughout her stint as the corporate’s TV and streaming chief, the place she established herself as a expertise whisperer.
“When you’re working on a project and it isn’t gelling, panic sets in and you throw shit against the wall,” Dan Fogelman, creator of the Hulu sequence “Paradise,” says. “Dana steps back, takes a breath and calls you into her office. She has this unique ability to zoom out and look at the big picture. And it can be as simple as ‘This drama is not dramatic enough’ or ‘This comedy isn’t funny.’”
Walden, who was a high TV govt at Fox, which maintained a Darwinian type of company governance, has tailored to the Disney approach, which embraces a extra collegial ethos. Most of the highest Fox executives who tried to make the transition flamed out, however Walden thrived.
“The two cultures could not be more different,” says Bryan Lourd, CEO of Creative Artists Agency. “But Dana bothered to get to know the people at Disney and find out what their challenges were. She didn’t bring any assumptions. She brought her curiosity.”
She additionally ensured a easy transition for the tons of of reveals shifting beneath the Disney umbrella.
“Will Peter Griffin suddenly have to wear a pair of mouse ears? That was the concern, and it just never materialized,” says “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, who praises Walden’s “self-assuredness” and skill to “socialize as a friend” with artistic individuals. “She’s like the ship’s captain who is able to be a leader and, at the same time, the big sister to the crew.”
Succession fights typically finish with bruised egos, however Walden has instructed confidants she’s enthusiastic about her new position, which incorporates overseeing movie. But meaning Bergman, who used to have a direct line to the CEO as film chief, will report back to Walden. It’s unclear if he embraces the brand new relationship; nevertheless, Bergman has not indicated he plans to go away.
As for D’Amaro, he’s already made overtures to Hollywood, stopping by a latest luncheon for Academy Award nominees, the place he mingled with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Timothée Chalamet. “When you watched Chapek at these things, it was painful,” one observer notes. “Josh seemed completely at ease.”
D’Amaro has managed to keep away from the controversies and tradition wars that perennially plague the Mouse House. He averted Chapek’s disastrous “Don’t Say Gay” battle in opposition to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and he didn’t must play dangerous cop in the course of the strikes or muddy himself within the ugly free speech drama between Jimmy Kimmel and the FCC, in contrast to Walden and Iger. But as CEO, D’Amaro must get his fingers soiled.
On Sept. 29, 2020, just a few months after D’Amaro was named chairman of Experiences, he confirmed how he may deal with a disaster. When mass layoffs struck Disney’s theme park enterprise, D’Amaro was tasked with telling hundreds of solid members they had been being evicted from the happiest place on Earth.
He didn’t simply ship a memo; as a substitute, he visited Downtown Disney to consolation crying staff. He listened to them as they vented and shared their fears. But he additionally made it clear that the COVID disaster had decimated tourism, leaving Disney with little selection however to make painful cuts.
“Josh was both being a good corporate soldier by handling the furloughs due to the reality of the COVID shutdown and also giving the frontline cast members the time to grieve over a very difficult situation,” says Gavin Doyle, founding father of the information web site Mickey Visit.
The central objection about Disney’s parks over the previous few years has been affordability. As their chief, D’Amaro has overseen worth hikes which have seen one-day passes at Disneyland and Disney World high $200 and annual passes attain upwards of $1,628. That’s stirred up complaints that what was as soon as a household vacation spot has turn into a getaway for the wealthy.
“There is a hope among Disney fans that Josh D’Amaro will lower prices,” says AJ Wolfe, writer of “Disney Adults: Exploring (and Falling in Love With) a Magical Subculture.” “I don’t think he’s going to do that. Why would he?”
Despite the blowback on pricing, Disney lovers revere D’Amaro. He’s a celeb amongst staff and parkgoers, who see him as the chief most loyal to Walt Disney’s authentic imaginative and prescient. When Buckingham adopted D’Amaro throughout Disneyland, he says, “it took us half an hour to get 30 yards. He is constantly accosted by guests who want to hug him and take pictures with him. I’ve walked the park with dozens of Disney execs over the years, and this mobbing has never happened before.”
One morning final 12 months, earlier than the gates opened, D’Amaro hung out within the sprawling “Star Wars” land with a Make-a-Wish recipient. “For half an hour, he’s just on his haunches with this 12-year-old girl chatting about the stupid robots that have walked up,” Buckingham says. “And no one’s watching; there are no cameras.”
While D’Amaro made robust selections throughout COVID, he was additionally an empathetic chief because the pandemic upended the enterprise. With all conferences relegated to Zoom, D’Amaro would cowl his identify tag with masking tape and scribble his emotional state with a blue pen. One day it was “Pain.” Another, “Fear.”
He’s additionally identified to get within the weeds. At Disneyland, he has a popularity for being obsessive about every part from the colour of the trash cans to the style of the popcorn. He lately spent almost three hours in a gathering with 30 operators and Imagineers to brainstorm a possible redesign of the Millennium Falcon journey. “He even designs his own PowerPoint presentations, which is kind of weird,” Buckingham says.
D’Amaro’s hands-on strategy doesn’t simply apply to the sights. In 2022, shortly after Mattel introduced a deal to make Disney Princess and “Frozen” dolls and different merchandise, D’Amaro drove himself to the toy maker’s headquarters in El Segundo.
“Josh wanted to meet the people who actually do the work, the product designers and developers,” says Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, a former Disney digital exec. “That was very telling about his approach: It was about the people and the work.”
When he ran the Experiences division, D’Amaro had hundreds of staff beneath him. Yet he maintained private relationships with the safety guards, cooks and princesses scattered throughout the park. He as soon as went viral for choosing up trash on Main Street. And on one Halloween, he served as a dressing up contest decide and chased down the losers to convey how a lot he admired their outfits.
D’Amaro lives in Orange County along with his spouse, Susan, and two youngsters. He’s two hours from the klieg lights of Hollywood, however he’s relocating to L.A. to be nearer to Disney’s Burbank headquarters. Having received the succession battle, D’Amaro is poised to turn into one of the recognizable figures in company America. His each public utterance will probably be dissected for clues concerning the route he desires to take the Magic Kingdom. Friends and former colleagues suppose he may have no hassle adjusting to the upper profile, together with the brand new zip code.
“Josh lives, eats and breathes the brand,” says Mayer. “I don’t think he’ll shrink from the spotlight. He’s a perfect ambassador for Disney, because he embodies its ethos.”
D’Amaro is keen on telling his youngsters, “Just say yes.” It’s a mantra he’s relied on when dealing with decisions and challenges in his profession. “There’s so much serendipity in life — you’ve got to open yourself up and explore,” D’Amaro instructed college students at Georgetown University, his alma mater, final April. “Everything is never lined up perfectly. Sometimes you just have to hold your breath and go for it.”
This month, one other a type of life-altering alternatives got here D’Amaro’s approach. On Feb. 2, the day the board voted unanimously in his favor, D’Amaro was invited right into a room with Iger and board chairman James Gorman, the place he was requested to be the subsequent CEO of The Walt Disney Co.
“It’s surreal,” D’Amaro confessed at a worldwide city corridor a pair days later. “A lot goes through your head in that moment. I got a little embarrassed. I got a little choked up. Because it’s a big responsibility.”
D’Amaro took his personal recommendation. He held his breath and went for it.
Todd Spangler and Matt Donnelly contributed to this story.
