Disney's James Gorman, Josh D'Amaro, Dana Walden and Bob Iger Disney Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment When James Gorman joined The Walt Disney Co. board of directors a little over a year ago, succession was top of mind. "The most important thing boards do is figure out the CEO, and transition," Gorman tells The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. And, the veteran finance executive says, Disney happened to have what he called "an embarrassment of riches," in its C-suite. Ultimately, of course, Disney chose Josh D'Amaro, the chairman of its experiences division, to succeed CEO Bob Iger next month. Related Stories Business Wall Street Prices Out Bob Iger's Swan Song Disney Earnings Business New Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro Set For $38 Million Pay Package "We have great executives here. We could have had more than one CEO here," Gorman says. "Ultimately, the board chose Josh. Hats off to him, and thank you to an unbelievable board of directors for the job they did." When Gorman joined the Disney board, he did so having just executed a successful transition at Morgan Stanley, and the experience of having been through the process, he felt, would be helpful to Disney. What followed was a year-long sprint to find the next CEO of Disney, a role that is arguably one of the most important in the entire entertainment business. The board's succession committee, which Gorman chaired, also included Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, Jeremy Darroch, the former chief executive of Sky, and Calvin McDonald, the CEO of Lululemon. "We spent a lot of time together as a committee, and then a lot of time with the full board, it was a very collaborative process, very open, very transparent and basically no leaks, which is part of what good board culture is all about," Gorman says, noting that, unlike many other CEO maneuvers in recent years, the actual board discussions remained closely held. According to Gorman and Disney's 2026 proxy filing, the Disney board began by figuring out what the key attributes should be in Disney's next CEO, and talking to internal candidates and external candidates about what their vision for the company is. "This is a $200 billion global company that probably is the best-known brand in the world," Gorman says. "So somebody appreciates the power of the brand, who loves Disney, who has a knack for storytelling, who can operate large, complex businesses, who travels well - that is they do well in foreign markets - who has the personal resilience to deal with the stress of these kinds of jobs, who has the energy and the passion and the positivity that you need to lead people, who is a clear communicator. "[There are] so many things, from culture to values to strategy to leadership, and nobody's got it all," Gorman continued. "You know, you grow into these jobs, and you end up at the end of it, hopefully much better than the person and capability than you begin with. You want somebody who has the ability to grow, and is on a nice inflection point in their life where there's they're growing and growing rapidly." The succession committee met five times in fiscal 2025, both with CEO Bob Iger and without him, running interviews and talking to advisers and employees. Iger himself mentored both Walden and D'Amaro, guiding them for whenever the board made its choice. Gorman told CNBC earlier Tuesday that, at the beginning of the process, they had over 100 people on the list, including both internal and external candidates. "I wanted to be able to say - and the board wanted to be able to say that whoever got this job beat all comers," he told the network. "This wasn't a rigged game. This was all comers, and Josh did it." So what goes into choosing the CEO of one of America's most important companies? It isn't exactly a linear process. Gorman emphasis that there was no one moment, no one presentation or conversation, that ultimately spurred the board to back D'Amaro. "It's like relationships. You can have a good dinner together, or have a fun conversation walking down the street, or you stop and buy a coffee together and share a joke," Gorman says. "There are moments that build and they build into, okay, this is somebody who I really think is going to work. "There's no single tipping point. It's easy to get seduced by a great presentation. Some leaders present well, some don't, you know, I don't think that should be the determinant," he adds. "Some people are naturally more organized in their strategic thinking than others. Doesn't mean they're not strategic. Some people say they're decisive, but you don't really know till you see them in the seat. So I think if you're doing your job, you try not to be wowed by or alternatively, put off by, single moments." But there is also arguably the most challenging part of any high-p