Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner has weighed in to offer congratulations and advice to future CEO Josh D’Amaro. This ‘quick hit’ post covers the message, largely because Eisner has become a fan-favorite since leaving the company. We also share sentiment from another former Disney executive about D’Amaro.
In case you missed it, the Walt Disney Company Board of Directors announced today that it elected Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro to become Chief Executive Officer, effective at the upcoming Annual Meeting on March 18, 2026. D’Amaro is a 28-year Disney veteran, is the architect of the largest global expansion in Disney Experiences history, and has led the segment to new heights financially, creatively, and in guest satisfaction according to TWDC.
Alongside D’Amaro’s appointment as CEO, Dana Walden, Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, has been named President and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Company, also effective March 18, 2026. In this historic new role for Disney, Walden will report directly to D’Amaro. Upon this transition, longtime Disney CEO Robert A. Iger will continue to serve as Senior Advisor and a member of the Disney Board from March 18th until his retirement from the company on December 31, 2026.
Against that backdrop, here’s the message from Michael Eisner, posted to Twitter:
Congratulations to Josh D’Amaro for becoming the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and congratulations to Chairman James Gorman for making such a wise pick as well as promoting Dana Walden to president and chief creative officer.
My advice to Josh is continue Bob Iger’s strategy that creativity will handle profits, always protect the brand, and keep close the words of Walt Disney: “We love to entertain kings and queens, but the vital thing to remember is this—every guest receives the VIP treatment.” Good luck.
This isn’t the first time Eisner has weighed on Disney business in recent years. He publicly backed the company during the proxy fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz, criticized the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, and offered his fairly unfiltered take on countless other things. (He also offered lovely tributes to two Disney-adjacent architects late last year.)
Suffice to say, Eisner has been opinionated in recent years on Twitter. He also offered his opinion on the Bob Swap back in November 2022:
The Walt Disney Company has suffered in recent years. This is a good time for us to remember the words of Walt Disney who said, “Everybody falls down. Getting back up is how you learn to walk.”
Eisner was previously bullish on Bob Chapek, admitting to a live television audience in January 2022 (pre-firing) that he was the one who had hired Chapek: “He was very good at Disney when I was there. He took our home video business from a rental to a sell-through business. That was very risky. He did a very good job in the parks. I am a shareholder. I think he’s going to do very well.”
I would hazard a guess that Eisner did not personally hire (or even know) D’Amaro from his time at Disney. Their paths probably would not have crossed for the ~5 years that their tenures at Disney overlapped; D’Amaro would’ve been too low-level during the late-stage Eisner era.
As a general matter, Eisner has been pretty supportive of his successor and the current Disney regime. I would hazard a guess that part of this is a personal connection, and viewing the Iger era as a continuation or correction, of sorts, of his own legacy.
However, another former beloved Disney executive, Matt Ouimet, who did work with D’Amaro weighed in via his LinkedIn page (note: this was posted before the official announcement).
Ouimet spent 17 years at Disney, serving as president of Disney Cruise Line from 1999 to 2023 before being named president of Disneyland Resort. He is beloved by diehard Disneyland fans and widely credited for revitalizing the resort after a period of malaise, and shepherding the hugely successful 50th Anniversary. He is still viewed as the gold standard for a parks executive by many. Anyway, here’s what Ouimet had to say:
Maybe I’m too close to it, but it seems to me that a significant portion of the U.S. public could name the CEO of the Walt Disney Company while that same group would struggle to come up with any others (except perhaps a few billionaire founders).
Historians should feel free to correct me, but this fascination likely started in the mid-50’s with Walt personally hosting a show that evolved to have various names, with my memory calling it The Wonderful World of Disney.
Later on, there were episodes hosted by Michael Eisner in the chief-storyteller mode reminiscent of Walt.
Bob Iger became familiar to the public twenty years ago during the CEO succession from Michael.
It seems to me that for some reason in Disney’s case, it isn’t enough to have CEO who is an accomplished business executive. Those that are loyal to Disney appear to want someone who they believe shares their commitment to the brand, while also being an astute executive. In Disney’s case, I actually think Wall Street investors recognize the importance of the public, brand-steward role.
This leads me to Josh D’Amaro, one of the leading candidates to replace Bob Iger. (For the record there are other candidates, none of whom I know personally.)
I worked with Josh twenty years ago and have watched his career advance from a distance.
Consider this:
Running the parks, resorts and cruise line is an incredibly complex business. But it is tangible and predictable. With rare exception, its business model evolves linearly. It can be organized in geographically logical components that compartmentalize into a manageable structure.
It is very important to recognize that studio business is totally different arena. It requires not only business savvy, nimble responses and vision, but astute relationship skills. It is the latter one that may prove the most challenging and most valuable.
Should Josh be the next CEO his deep understanding of the parks division will free him to focus his attention on the more dynamic lines of business and establish the types of value-added relationships that have helped the company grow in recent times.
Finally, I need to add that no one does this alone and perhaps Josh’s greatest strength is that talented people will want to work for him and so will third-party partners.
I don’t make this case just because I like Josh, I also make it because I would like to see Disney continue to be successful for decades to come (and just maybe we would get to see Josh on Sunday night tv).
We thought this was worth hearing both as the perspective of a beloved ex-executive and without any clear conflicts or vested interest in publicly praising D’Amaro. He left Disney long and and is retired, so it’s not like Ouimet is offering this to improve his career prospects.
Just based on what I’ve already heard from friends at the company, I would hazard a guess that we’re going to see many more messages like this from people who have worked with Josh D’Amaro.
I can recall neither seeing nor hearing anything of the sort in February 2020 when Bob Chapek was promoted. I do recall a lot of rejoicing back on that fateful day in November 2022 when he was finally shown the door.
As we’ve said several times in the last few years, DisneyWar is well overdue for a sequel or three. The original book chronicled the rise and fall of CEO Michael Eisner, but didn’t really capture the ascension of CEO Bob Iger, him righting the ship, acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox, or anything beyond that.
Iger’s early days helming Disney would make for a fascinating read. As would the trials and tribulations of Walt Disney World’s NextGen initiative. Same goes for the struggles in bringing Shanghai Disneyland to fruition. Or in the rise and fall of Jay Rasulo, Tom Staggs, Kevin Mayer, and more in the first round of succession struggles.
Then there was the wild ride that was the COVID closure and Chapek era, and of course, the Bob Swap that followed. Not to mention Starcruiser, Imagineering’s failed Florida move, Disney vs. DeSantis, Iger vs. Elon, SaveDisney 2.0, and so much more. Perhaps instead of DisneyWar 2, there should be a Disney remix of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” with all the quick hits.
Anyway, my hope is that there is no book or song material in the next few years. While I do admit that I’ve enjoyed a lot of the palace intrigue, and I agree with Ouimet that the role of Disney CEO is unique and demands a public-facing brand-steward and storyteller, it would also be nice if the D’Amaro era is a bit more boring. For the health of the company and its reputation, fewer headlines would be optimal. Hopefully D’Amaro heeds Eisner’s advice and lives up to Ouimet’s praise.
Need Disney trip planning tips and comprehensive advice? Make sure to read Disney Parks Vacation Planning Guides, where you can find comprehensive guides to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond! For Disney updates, discount information, free downloads of our eBooks and wallpapers, and much more, sign up for our FREE email newsletter!
OUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on Eisner’s or Ouimet’s reactions? Does this make you more confident in Disney’s selection of D’Amaro as CEO? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!