Disney's Leadership Changes: Gorman as Chairman and CEO Search

James Gorman's elevation to chairman signals a pivotal moment for Disney's succession planning.

### Leadership Changes at Disney: James Gorman's New Role and CEO Succession
* 📅 Today, Disney announced that **James Gorman will assume the role of chairman in 2025**, with a new CEO expected to be revealed in **early 2026**.
* 🧑 Gorman, the former CEO of Morgan Stanley, has been leading the succession efforts since August and is seen as a **fresh face for the board**.
* 🔍 The decision to elevate Gorman to chairman reflects Disney's ongoing focus on **succession planning**, particularly regarding the **replacement of Bob Iger**.
* 🤔 Unlike previous succession attempts, Gorman does not carry the **baggage of past failures**, which positions him as a **strong candidate to guide the company forward**.
* 🗳 Internally, potential CEO candidates include the heads of various divisions such as parks, TV, movies, and ESPN, although **no leading candidate has emerged publicly yet**.
* 📈 Disney has performed well recently, notably achieving **strong results at the Emmys**, which marks a **high point for the company's television division**.
* 🎢 Despite some mixed results in the parks and ongoing challenges with ESPN's transition to direct-to-consumer, the entertainment side of the business appears to be **improving**.
* ⏳ As the company awaits its upcoming earnings report, many questions remain about its **future direction and leadership**.

Today, the company announced James Gorman will take on the role of chairman in 2025, while also announcing that a new CEO will be revealed in early 2026. Bloomberg's Felix Gillette joins us in Look. James Gorman, former Morgan Stanley CEO, has been leading the succession chase since August. But why is he now taking on the additional responsibility of being chairman of Disney's board overall? Well, I think Disney's been telegraphing this for a while, and Gorman's the new face of the board. He's got a strong track record in terms of succession. And succession is the number one issue in Disney's future. Who's going to replace Bob Iger? He doesn't have the same baggage that his predecessor did in terms of, you know, what went wrong in the previous Disney succession plans. So I think this makes a lot of sense in terms of just elevating him and giving him a formal role in terms of making this next choice.

Mark Parker retires James Gorman to the helm from a board level. Take us back to the CEO. And who are the names in the running here internally and maybe even externally? Yeah, I mean, I think at this point it's, you know, the four direct reports to Iger, the head of parts, the head of TV, the head of movies, and the head of ESPN. And, you know, everyone the Kremlinology is that Disney everyone's very eagerly watching all of the speculation about, you know, who's up, who's down. I think the company has done a pretty good job at this point of keeping its cards close to the vest if there is a leading candidate at this point. It really hasn't gotten out. And so I don't think this move changes that at all. We can have to wait a few weeks until Disney has earnings. But based on post Netflix, how is Disney doing right now?

I mean, Disney's had a good last year. When you think about the recent Emmys, probably the strongest Emmy performance in the company's history on the TV front. You know, winning the show gotten the bare inside out to deliver hugely for the company after a bunch of stumbles on the film side. You know, the parks have been a little bit more mixed. And in terms of ESPN's future, still dealing with the transition to direct to consumer. There's a lot of open questions still about the company's future. But you have to say it's been a little bit better, especially in the entertainment side.

Disney Names James Gorman as New Chairman

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James Gorman will become chairman of Disney's board in 2025, with a new CEO to be revealed in early 2026.

Gorman has been leading the succession chase since August and is seen as the new face of the board.

His strong track record in succession planning makes him a suitable candidate to address Disney's future leadership challenges.

Mark Parker is retiring and James Gorman is taking over from a board level, with speculation around the next CEO.

The four direct reports to Iger, including heads of parts, TV, movies, and ESPN, are being closely watched as potential candidates.

Disney has been tight-lipped about a leading candidate, and the company's performance post-Netflix is still uncertain, with earnings results pending.

Disney had a strong year, with a historic Emmy performance on the TV front.

The success of the show "The Bear" has significantly impacted the company's revenue.

While the parks have had mixed results and ESPN is transitioning to direct-to-consumer, the overall outlook for Disney's entertainment side has improved.