Disney Taps James Gorman as Succession Planning Committee Chair

Disney has appointed James Gorman to chair its succession planning committee tasked with finding a replacement for CEO Bob Iger.

Gorman, who joined the company’s board earlier this year, has served as Morgan Stanley’s executive chairman since 2012 and was the bank’s CEO from 2010 through 2023. He will cede the executive chairman role in December 2024.

Gorman first joined Morgan Stanley in 2006 and was named co-president in 2007. Prior to that, he held executive positions at Merrill Lynch and was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. He currently serves as a director of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a member of the Business Council and formerly served as director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and President of the Federal Advisory Council to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board.

“James is a highly respected leader, and we’ve asked him to serve as the new Chair of the Succession Planning Committee given his deep succession planning experience and long-term strategic mentality,” Disney board chairman Mark Parker said in a statement. “Succession planning is a top priority of the Board, and I am eager to continue collaborating with James on the Committee as we advance the important work we have already been doing to identify and prepare the next CEO of The Walt Disney Company.”

In addition to Gorman and Parker, the succession planning committee is made up of directors Mary Barra and Calvin McDonald. All members have direct experience in CEO and senior leadership succession planning for Fortune 500 companies.

“I look forward to working alongside Mark and my other fellow Committee members in advising the Board as we continue to press forward expeditiously with this work,” Gorman said.

In January 2023, the board formed the succession planning committee to create a leadership transition plan in alignment with Disney’s long-term strategic goals. The committee has met six times to date in fiscal 2024, consistently engaging with the full board.

“At the direction of the Board, the Committee and the full Board continue to undertake a deliberate succession planning process, including evaluation of transition structures and organizational frameworks, and planning for potential impacts of succession decisions across the Company,” Disney said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Committee and Board are reviewing internal candidates and external candidates. Internal candidates are going through a preparation process that includes mentorship from Disney CEO Robert A. Iger, external coaching, and engagement with all Board directors.”

Disney is currently looking at four internal candidates: Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro, Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro.

After serving as Disney CEO for 15 years from 2005 to 2020, Iger stepped away from the company in December 2021. He would name ex-parks chief Bob Chapek as his replacement, but that tenure would be short-lived, with the successor-turned -predecessor ousted less than a year later. Iger would step back into the CEO duties in November 2022.

The botched succession would become one of multiple factors that prompted activist investor Nelson Peltz to make another go for seats on the company’s board earlier this year, though he ultimately lost the board election.

“It’s actually something that I’m obviously very focused on, not just because of the past, but because I’d like to retire again and I’d like to leave the company in great hands, and that is my intention,” Iger told SiriusXM’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa” on Wednesday. “I’m now confident that not only will we do that, but we’ll do so on a timely basis that works for the company and hopefully works for me as well, but yes. It’s a huge priority.”

Iger’s contract is currently set to expire at the end of 2026.

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