Disney parks boss Josh D'Amaro touts Mouse House bona fides as succession chatter rages

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro brought his rodent ears to Wall Street Wednesday, successful what is seen arsenic portion of a high-profile tryout to find which of the Burbank amusement giant’s executives has the mettle and finesse to win Chief Executive Bob Iger.

Speaking earlier investors astatine the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet & Communications Conference, the 54-year-old taxable parks main touted the powerfulness and committedness of his division, which includes resorts, cruise lines and video games.

He leaned into the company’s rigorous absorption techniques and its ambitions. One of D’Amaro’s strengths is his enthusiasm for the fabled company, seen arsenic a prerequisite for succeeding Iger. He’s spent astir of his big beingness — astir 27 years — astatine Disney.

“It feels similar it went by successful a moment,” D’Amaro said. “I’m truthful arrogant to enactment for the Walt Disney Co.”

D’Amaro’s duty could person been a tricky one.

This week successful New York has agelong been reserved for tv executives, and it was Iger who, with the assistance of Mickey Mouse, led a parade of stars to woo advertisers during Walt Disney Co.’s yearly upfront programming presumption a time earlier.

Early adjacent year, Disney’s committee is expected to sanction a caller CEO to instrumentality the reins successful precocious 2026, erstwhile Iger is scheduled to retire. D’Amaro is among the starring contenders. The co-chairs of Disney Entertainment, Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, besides are successful the running. So is ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.

Disney’s committee has said it plans to see outer candidates arsenic well.

But observers judge that D’Amaro’s banal has been rising.

Disney declined to remark connected succession speculation.

For Disney’s board, the stakes couldn’t beryllium higher. The past clip it orchestrated a CEO handoff — to different parks leader, Bob Chapek — the statement imploded, prompting Iger’s accelerated return.

D’Amaro connected Wednesday recalled that November 2022 event, saying that erstwhile Iger returned to the Burbank headquarters, D’Amaro brought him a bulky binder that included elaborate updates for each constituent of the tremendous parks and experiences division.

Iger dropped by D’Amaro’s bureau the pursuing time with the 250-page binder successful hand.

“He pulled retired 1 page,” D’Amaro said, noting that Iger had identified that “we person plentifulness of country to turn this business. We’ve got onshore successful each of our locations astir the world. ... We’ve got the stories [and] we’ve got the fans.”

The illustration was designed to wage tribute to Iger’s prowess and leadership, but it besides underscored that D’Amaro’s parks and experiences part remains cardinal to Disney’s success.

Disney has pledged to walk $60 cardinal during the adjacent decennary to grow and revitalize resorts and taxable parks. It expects to treble its fleet of cruise lines. The institution besides has invested $1.5 cardinal successful “Fortnite” developer Epic Games to pat into the increasing gross imaginable of video gamers.

D’Amaro’s league quality came a week aft Disney delivered awesome quarterly earnings, propelling the banal to ascent astir 20% to much than $111 a share, regaining marketplace crushed mislaid since past fall.

Operating income astatine the home taxable parks and experiences division, which includes cruise lines, roseate 13% to $1.8 billion.

Disney besides announced a large enlargement successful the Middle East, wherever it is readying to physique its seventh taxable park.

“We looked astir the satellite ... and ended up successful Abu Dhabi,” D’Amaro said. That portion has emerged arsenic an amusement hub wrong the United Arab Emirates, wherever the caller parkland volition articulation SeaWorld and Ferrari World.

“If you look astatine a four-hour formation radius into Abu Dhabi, a 3rd of the world’s colonisation is there,” D’Amaro said. “We deliberation that determination are fractional a cardinal consumers that person the close Disney affinity and income to sojourn 1 of these taxable parks.”

Disney is collaborating with Miral Group, an limb of the Abu Dhabi government, which volition wage for the multibillion-dollar construction, successful a departure from Disney’s long-held signifier of owning its parks.

Disney won’t loosen its grip connected the originative elements, D’Amaro said, adding Miral volition “ultimately run the task with a important magnitude of oversight from us.”

This wasn’t the archetypal clip D’Amaro has presented astatine an capitalist conference. Two years ago, D’Amaro took the signifier astatine the JP Morgan exertion and media conference. Other executives person besides made the rounds.

In March, Walden spoke astatine the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference. That aforesaid period D’Amaro and Bergman appeared onstage unneurotic to contiguous “The Future of World-Building astatine Disney” astatine South by Southwest successful Austin, Texas.

Hollywood insiders judge Disney needs an Iger-like successor, idiosyncratic who has a deft interaction with endowment and is profoundly acquainted with the tv and movie broadside of the business.

Walden and Bergman besides negociate a prestigious portfolio, which includes the critically important Disney+ and Hulu streaming services.

Clockwise from apical left: Alan Bergman, Josh D’Amaro, Dana Walden and Jimmy Pitaro.

(Evan Agostini, Chris Pizzello and Richard Shotwell / Invision via AP)

D’Amaro, a Massachusetts native, has earned personage presumption among Disney’s faithful.

He occasionally mingles with park-goers, a dainty for Disney superfans who station TikTok videos successful nationalist show of affection. In those clips, D’Amaro is typically beaming, elevating him to a jolly marque ambassador for the “happiest spot connected earth.”

“I’ve been precise fortunate,” D’Amaro said of his 27 years astatine Disney, saying the tenure has allowed him “to link with and conscionable a batch of our executives and recognize the antithetic businesses, which makes it a spot easier to navigate and support connected with the remainder of the company.”