One of the vital giant questions for the way forward for Disney Parks & Accommodations (sorry, Reports) is who turns into the phase Chairman when Josh D’Amaro succeeds CEO Bob Iger (sorry, if he’s introduced as successor).
Previous to as of late, we’d’ve stated there are a pair main applicants already within the department, however that we’re within the window the place each reshuffling might be achieved with succession-planning in thoughts. As the results of a brand new management shake-up, we now have a brand new title so as to add to the combo.
Right here’s the announcement from the Walt Disney Corporate:
Disney Reports Chairman Josh D’Amaro as of late introduced the appointment of Michael Moriarty as Govt Vice President and Leader Monetary Officer, Disney Reports, succeeding Kevin Lansberry.
Lansberry shall be retiring in February 2026 after an strange 39-year profession with Disney that integrated a breadth of roles throughout Disneyland and Walt Disney International Accommodations in Finance, Industry Construction, Alliances and Operations, in addition to an period in-between position as CFO for The Walt Disney Corporate in 2023.
Moriarty brings just about twenty years of Disney management enjoy, together with his time as former CFO at Walt Disney Imagineering and Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, and finance management roles at Walt Disney International Hotel. For the previous 5 years, he has served as President and Managing Director of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.
Underneath Moriarty’s management, the lodge expanded with the a success opening of International of Frozen — contributing to a record-breaking yr in 2024 — and introduced a year-long party of its twentieth anniversary this is lately below means.
“Michael Moriarty brings a deep figuring out of our long-term way to develop the succeed in and have an effect on of Disney Reports,” stated D’Amaro. “His world standpoint and management will assist information us thru a thrilling bankruptcy of enlargement, achieving new enthusiasts in new puts and on new platforms.”
A statement referring to Moriarty’s successor at Hong Kong Disneyland shall be made at a later date.
Moriarty has had a shockingly a success tenure at Hong Kong Disneyland. Listed below are a couple of key monetary highlights from the latest fiscal yr:
- HKDL recorded a ancient internet benefit of HK$838 million, representing a year-on-year growth of HK$1.2 billion.
- HKDL noticed list EBITDA and income in FY24. EBITDA advanced by way of HK$1.4 billion to HK$2.3 billion, and income grew by way of 54% year-on-year to HK$8.8 billion.
- In keeping with capita visitor spending grew by way of 28%.
- General attendance reached an all-time excessive of seven.7 million, due to a robust rebound in mainland China and out of the country visitation, in addition to persisted robust native momentum.
All of that is ahead of International of Frozen have been open for a complete yr, or the 20 th Anniversary began.
According to what we noticed all over our ultimate consult with to Hong Kong Disneyland, the as soon as “little fortress park that would” has blossomed into its personal. It’s most definitely a lovely secure wager that those numbers will display vital year-over-year growth, with even upper benefit, attendance and occupancy numbers.
Given Moriarty’s management in attaining those effects, in addition to opening International of Frozen, launching the 20 th Anniversary, and getting the Surprise enlargement again on course, it sort of feels rather evident that he’d be regarded as for the Parks Chair place. That is a real promotion–he’s no longer being put out to pasture with a pretend task, like helming Disney’s protection of the Olympics.
Talking of faux jobs protecting the Olympics, the opposite leaders I’d control for the Parks Chair place are Thomas Natacha Rafalski, Présidente of Disneyland Paris and Thomas Mazloum, President of Disneyland Hotel.
Each have robust credentials, and appear poised to proceed their ascent up the ranks. I’ve additionally heard quite a few positives about each, and feature had the danger to speak to Mazloum on a couple of events at quite a lot of occasions and feature come away inspired. Mazloum, particularly, has effectively controlled a large number of primary initiatives in difficult prerequisites post-reopening–and Disneyland in California is a common stepping-stone place to the highest task.
I might be stunned if the present President of Walt Disney International is within the working; I’m roughly stunned he’s nonetheless round. However once more, my standpoint is essentially that of an interloper. I’ll be carefully gazing different upcoming parks management adjustments to look who will get cycled into vital new roles, and who’s quietly sidelined with symbolic “promotions” to faux jobs.
As for the advice that Josh D’Amaro is a number one candidate to be Disney’s subsequent CEO, or extra appropriately, the main candidate, that’s no longer simply our view. This from Bloomberg previous in October:
Walt Disney Co. Leader Govt Officer Bob Iger was once chatting on the Farmshop eating place in Santa Monica, California, a pair weeks in the past when the dialog became irritating.
His breakfast spouse urged Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney’s theme-parks department, “will do a perfect task when he’s appointed CEO.” Iger bristled, in line with an individual who witnessed the change. He raised his voice, announcing the board hadn’t decided and that he had “no concept” the place that perception was once coming from.
The dialog displays a rising consensus amongst many Disney executives, former executives and trade leaders that D’Amaro will be successful Iger when the corporate names a brand new CEO as deliberate early subsequent yr. The board is thinking about 4 inner applicants, together with D’Amaro, leisure co-heads Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, and Jimmy Pitaro, who leads ESPN. Iger’s contract leads to December 2026.
That is considered one of a number of stories within the ultimate couple of years suggesting that D’Amaro and Walden are the front-runners.
It’s imaginable those are simply skilled guesses versus insider information, even though. I do know completely not anything and I might’ve guessed that D’Amaro and Walden can be front-runners just by distinctive feature in their positions, public appearances, and different variables. Relating to appearances, D’Amaro has made a large number of the ones during the last 6 months that would appear to sign he’s CEO in ready.
Extra importantly, trade is booming for the Reports department. It become the corporate’s number one benefit engine in 2022, changing the declining cable TV trade. Reports now represents over 70% of Disney’s general running source of revenue, up from 41% in 2019 and 34.5% in 2018.
Reports is the only department that has in reality grown measurably since 2020. During the first 9 months of fiscal 2025, benefit within the Disney Reports department rose to $8.12 billion, a 3rd greater than Disney’s TV, movie, streaming and sports activities segments blended. The previous few years had been a combat for the ones companies.
As a result of the phase’s luck below D’Amaro’s management, it is usually seeing $60 billion of funding over the following decade. It’s our expectation that this quantity in reality finally ends up being less than the real spend (it additionally doesn’t account for initiatives/partnerships that shall be income turbines with out funding, like Disneyland Abu Dhabi). And in contrast to the cash pit this is streaming, there will have to in reality be ROI from the parks!
Given all that, it sort of feels handiest logical that Disney’s subsequent CEO would come from its maximum a success department, and be the only one who has a rather spotless list all over that time frame.
I received’t fake to grasp a lot about Dana Walden. I’ve learn so much about her to stand up to hurry on succession making plans; she appears to be rather widespread and just right at what she does.
However I’ll be the primary to concede that I don’t have a lot interest for the leisure facet of the trade, such a lot of my wisdom is superficial and no longer knowledgeable by way of any exact conversations with other folks. Simply what I’ve learn within the Hollywood trades. And with regards to stuff like succession making plans, a large number of this is most definitely positioned by way of Walden’s camp to color a good image of her. (Or conversely, I assume, by way of the camps of her pageant.)
So I’ll simply indicate the most obvious. Past her trade acumen and relationships with Hollywood skill, the benefit Walden has is that she’d be ancient–Disney’s first feminine CEO. The legal responsibility that she poses is that she’d most definitely be considered because the extra political pick out, no longer because of this, however as a result of those self same relationships and because her title has been concerned with a number of high-profile issues. I’d danger a bet that Disney’s Board of Administrators can be reluctant to call Dana Walden as CEO between now and November 2028.
In what appears to be an more and more unpopular opinion amongst Walt Disney International and Disneyland diehards, my hope is that D’Amaro is the following CEO. Admittedly, that is no less than in part an issue of expediency and to make sure continuity of initiatives.
All it takes is a regime trade to derail initiatives that aren’t sufficiently a ways alongside in development. New leaders like to make their mark on theme park initiatives, in tactics each just right and dangerous. So let’s say that, as an example, Villains Land in Magic Kingdom or Pandora in Disney California Journey are handiest cleared parcels of land in overdue 2026.
Let’s additional think, for the sake of this hypothetical, that Dana Walden will get the nod as CEO. What if she secretly loves Bob’s Burgers or another franchise that came visiting along with her from Fox, and thinks that might be a just right have compatibility for Magic Kingdom and DCA enlargement?
we finally end up with two cloned Bob’s Burgers lands, making a few of you who argued the Simpsons are “un-Disney” want lets’ve have Springfield as an alternative. I’m no longer announcing this may occasionally occur, because it’s extremely far-fetched. It’s simply to underscore the purpose that management shake-ups lead to precedence and venture adjustments, with new CEOs favoring their very own puppy houses. A few of you may have a failure of creativeness with regards to the disadvantage chance within the unknown.
There’s little to no chance of this if D’Amaro is known as CEO. He would necessarily be continuity with the present Parks & Accommodations regime. There could also be little issues over which he and Iger disagreed, however I will not see him cancelling a whole land or changing the process a venture fully. D’Amaro is the consistency candidate; any individual else might be an agent of trade and chaos.
A just right factor, I assume, for those who’d like to look some trade and chaos–I do know many enthusiasts supported the Peltz proxy struggle for exactly this explanation why. However simply understand that the grass is at all times greener. Whilst you’re advocating for unsure adjustments, you’re most definitely envisioning a best-case state of affairs the place issues recover. As an alternative believe the counterfactual, the place issues get measurably worse. The following CEO may just hate theme parks, and notice enlargement doable in different trade devices and wish to over-invest in the ones.
In the end, that is why I’d love to have any individual from Parks & Accommodations function CEO of the Walt Disney Corporate. At the moment, that individual can be Josh D’Amaro. I’ve develop into much less bullish on D’Amaro since he got here aboard Disney, in large part as a result of his observe list on initiatives that had been began and finished below his tenure is a combined bag.
However, I’d moderately have D’Amaro over the lifelike possible choices for the straightforward explanation why that he’s a “Parks Man.” No longer handiest that, however I’d love to consider that his fingers had been tied by way of the streaming woes and the whole thing else, so treading water for a couple of years was once the most efficient case state of affairs. I wish to consider the blame for the EPCOT overhaul debacle lies somewhere else, and the 2025 initiatives which are underway will move significantly better.
On a good notice, we’ve heard lots about D’Amaro from previous colleagues and Solid Contributors–and nonetheless need to provide him the good thing about the doubt in response to that. Individuals who have labored with him–and no longer simply frontline Solid Contributors who’ve superficial encounters–counsel that he’s the actual deal. That D’Amaro is any individual who in point of fact “will get” Walt Disney International and Disneyland, cares about Solid Contributors and the visitor enjoy, and would recommend for theme parks.
The secret’s that I wish to see any individual–any individual–come from the Parks & Accommodations facet of the trade. I would like that to be the corporate’s focal point. That’s my non-public bias. It will be great to have a CEO who got here up throughout the parks and understands their significance to the corporate’s ingenious legacy–and no longer simply because the goose(s) that lay golden eggs. Whether or not that’s Josh D’Amaro, the triumphant go back of Tom Staggs, or some thriller 3rd candidate–I’ll take them over any individual from Hollywood or ESPN.
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OUR THOUGHTS
What do you take into consideration this management shake-up? Are you glad, disenchanted, or detached against the scoop? Acknowledge this as a ‘vital’ transfer despite the fact that you’re no longer wild about it? Who do you suppose shall be CEO of the Walt Disney Corporate on January 1, 2027? Will it’s Bob Iger (nonetheless), Josh D’Amaro, Dana Walden, Jimmy Pitaro, Alan Bergman, Tom Staggs, Kevin Mayer, or not one of the above? Who will have to it’s? Do you settle or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we will be able to allow you to resolution? Listening to your comments–even whilst you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please proportion your ideas under within the feedback!
