Bob Iger's Successor Search: James Gorman Appointed Chair of Disney's Succession Planning Committee

25 days ago in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Posted: Thursday August 22, 2024 7:20am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Walt Disney Company has announced the appointment of James P. Gorman as the new Chair of its Succession Planning Committee. Gorman, a Disney Board member since earlier this year and Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley, brings extensive experience in leadership transitions, having recently overseen the succession process at Morgan Stanley, where he previously served as Chairman and CEO.

Walt Disney Company headquarters in Burbank, California

Mark Parker, Chairman of Disney's Board, commented on the appointment: "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. 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, the Succession Planning Committee includes directors Mary Barra and Calvin McDonald, both of whom bring significant experience in CEO and senior leadership succession planning for Fortune 500 companies. The Committee has been actively engaged in the process of identifying and preparing potential successors to Disney's current CEO, Bob Iger.

Background on Disney's Succession Planning

The formation of the Succession Planning Committee in January 2023 marked a significant step in Disney's approach to CEO succession, a process that became increasingly critical after Bob Iger's return as CEO in late 2022. Iger, who originally stepped down as CEO in February 2020, returned to the role following the departure of his successor, Bob Chapek, amid a period of strategic challenges and leadership turbulence within the company.

Iger's return was seen as a stabilizing move for Disney, a company he had successfully led for 15 years, during which he oversaw the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox, significantly expanding Disney's content portfolio. However, his return also came with the clear objective of setting the stage for a more permanent leadership transition.

Since his return, Iger has made it clear that his tenure is temporary, with a primary focus on guiding the company through a smooth succession process. The Succession Planning Committee, under the guidance of the Board, has been working to evaluate both internal and external candidates for the CEO role.

James Gorman's Leadership Experience

James Gorman's appointment as Chair of the Succession Planning Committee is a strategic choice given his extensive experience in leadership transitions. Gorman, who will be stepping down as Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley in December 2024, served as the company's CEO from 2010 to 2023 and as Chairman from 2012 to 2023. His leadership was pivotal in navigating Morgan Stanley through periods of significant change and growth.

Before his tenure at Morgan Stanley, Gorman held executive roles at Merrill Lynch and was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. His deep understanding of corporate strategy and governance, combined with his recent experience in succession planning at Morgan Stanley, positions him well to lead Disney's efforts in identifying and preparing its next CEO.

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NotCalledBob12 hours ago

We won an Emmy. I most definitely shouldn't say that, but it's so much fun I had to share! Woo!

NotCalledBob15 hours ago

And I'm on TV. Oh dear. 🤣

NotCalledBob17 hours ago

He is with Dana and Alan

Vegas Disney Fan17 hours ago

Those private jets come in handy, he was at the Sphere last night watching the UFC, in a private suite of course.

JoeCamel17 hours ago

They aren't giving him an award are they??

NotCalledBob17 hours ago

I've not managed to see who he is with yet. Be interesting to see if he brought Josh.

Tha Realest17 hours ago

Of course. That’s his lifeblood. He never misses that. When was the last time he was at the IAAPAs?

JoeCamel18 hours ago

Did he smell like booze?

NotCalledBob19 hours ago

Bob is at the Emmys this evening. I just saw him. 😉

BrianLo2 days ago

The other two bad decisions, in hindsight, on how the men differed: -Chapek was chasing empty subscriber numbers. There is well documented conflict between to the two of this. It led to the stock pumping and eventual slump. Along with the write off in Indian operations. This issue is most directly what got him fired and invited corporate raiders through the door. -Shoveling content to DTC. Iger has always been a less is more tentpole strategy. A bit more theatrically focused. It didn’t seem like a bad idea in the midst of the Pandemic, but theatrical earnings were clearly left on the table in hindsight. Now that said, In the sake of being celebratory of Chapek; I really don’t think Iger would have purchased the Genting Dream. Considering how much money is in cruising right now, getting a mega vessel on a major discount was a correct long play.

Magic Crush Drop2 days ago

High than Post Walt-Pre Eisner CEOs but lower than Iger. Maybe on Roy O. level? I think he will have something written about his time (DisneyWar pt2) and a couple tik toks about the wild actions he did by some creator that barely remember that time and confuses him with Iger 2.0.

Dranth3 days ago

True, the over reaction, political stunt from Florida is not excused in anyway by the choices Chapek made and the state was 100000000% in the wrong to me. Having said that, it doesn't change that he had the opportunity to take a safe route with lots of cover for his company. He was told to go that route from the board of the directors. He agreed to go that route with them in person and then changed his mind, didn't tell them he changed his mind, and went out on his own with a position he HAD to know would attract more attention. Even if many of us feel it was the right position to take and it was unrealistic for anyone to expect just how far the state would end up going, as a CEO of a public company, you can't go further than you can get the board to support and except to keep your job.

Ayla3 days ago

Totally blaming Chapek in that situation is not fair (though I believe he was a disaster in pretty much everything else). You can't discount the FL government's role in it.

Vegas Disney Fan3 days ago

It will be interesting to see how history remembers Chapek, if it even does. He was thrown into the CEO role at the worst possible time, they had just bought Fox and put the company tens of billions in debt, they had just launched D+ which was losing billions more, the pandemic quickly shut down the world and cost them tens of billions in park income… it was the perfect storm for failure, then on top of that FL passed some controversial legislation and he was instantly faced with internal revolt while he was still trying to establish himself as the new CEO, while still reporting to Iger. I’ll never be a fan of Chapek due to all the horrible parks decisions he made but I don’t think anyone could have succeeded in his position. He was thrown to the wolves, it would have been amazing had he not failed. I think he ends up a footnote but I also think history will be kinder to him than it will be to Iger. ETA… Dranth is also correct, had he simply signed the letter, like he said he would, he probably could have avoided that drama and had one less catastrophe to deal with.