In a board shake-up, James Gorman, a director in charge of planning for a successor to the chief executive, Robert A. Iger, will become chairman on Jan. 2, 2025.
Disney said on Monday that it would name a new chief executive in “early 2026,” which is later than many in Hollywood had expected.
The timeline — the first Disney has described publicly — came as part of a board shake-up. James P. Gorman, a veteran Wall Street banker who joined the board in February, will become Disney’s chairman on Jan. 2, 2025, the company said. He will replace Mark G. Parker, who will step down after two years in the role and leave the Disney board entirely.
“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new C.E.O., which we now expect to announce in early 2026,” Mr. Gorman said in a statement. “This timing reflects the progress the succession planning committee and the board are making and will allow ample time for a successful transition.”
In August, Disney’s board put Mr. Gorman in charge of finding a successor to Robert A. Iger, 73, who came out of retirement in late 2022 to retake Disney’s reins. The board rehired Mr. Iger after it fired Bob Chapek, Mr. Iger’s handpicked successor.
Mr. Iger has publicly said he is “definitely” leaving when his contract expires on Dec. 31, 2026, a vow some people inside and outside of Disney have viewed with skepticism. During his earlier, 15-year stint as Disney’s chief executive, Mr. Iger delayed his retirement four times and seemed reluctant to leave when he did.
The Disney board and Mr. Iger are widely viewed as having botched the selection of Mr. Chapek, who had been running the Disney theme parks. The board never interviewed Mr. Chapek, and Mr. Iger soon turned on him, leading to a power struggle just as Disney was contending with the pandemic and the entertainment industry’s shift to streaming. Disney has been hit with multiple shareholder lawsuits related to Mr. Chapek’s tenure.
