Josh D'Amaro

Josh D'Amaro (born February 10, 1971) is an American business executive who has served as chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company since March 18, 2026, succeeding Bob Iger. A Disney employee since 1998, he spent almost his entire career in the company's parks and experiences businesses, and immediately before becoming CEO he was chairman of Disney Experiences, the company's largest segment, a post he held from May 18, 2020 until his elevation in 2026.

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Early life and education

D'Amaro was born on February 10, 1971, in Medfield, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Georgetown University, and began his working life in the finance department of the Gillette Company in Boston before joining Disney in 1998.

Career

D'Amaro joined Disney in 1998 at the Disneyland Resort in California. Over the following decade he worked in sales and travel trade marketing, and his early executive career ranged across the company: he served as chief financial officer of Disney Consumer Products' global licensing business and as a vice president of Adventures by Disney, the company's guided-travel division. He then moved into park operations as vice president of Disney's Animal Kingdom during the planning of the park's Pandora – The World of Avatar expansion, followed by senior roles running resorts and transportation operations at Walt Disney World and a period as Walt Disney World's chief operating officer.

In February 2018 D'Amaro became president of the Disneyland Resort, where he oversaw the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2019. In November 2019 he moved back to Florida as president of Walt Disney World Resort, in charge of its four theme parks, two water parks, more than two dozen hotels and the Disney Springs district.

On May 18, 2020, D'Amaro succeeded Bob Chapek — who had himself just become chief executive of the whole company — as chairman of the parks segment, then called Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. He took over at the worst moment in the segment's history: every Disney park in the world was closed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He managed the phased reopenings that followed, and also the painful contraction that accompanied them, including the announcement in September 2020 that 28,000 cast members would be laid off. The segment was renamed Disney Experiences in November 2023.

As chairman, D'Amaro oversaw twelve theme parks and 57 resort hotels worldwide, Disney Cruise Line, Walt Disney Imagineering and the consumer products business. In September 2023 Disney committed to investing roughly 60 billion dollars over about ten years across the segment, the largest expansion programme in its history, including a new Disney resort destination announced for Abu Dhabi. By fiscal 2025 the segment he ran reported 36 billion dollars in annual revenue and employed some 185,000 cast members and employees, making it Disney's largest business.

Chief executive

On February 3, 2026, Disney's board announced that it had unanimously elected D'Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as chief executive, effective at the company's annual meeting on March 18, 2026, and that he would join the board immediately after that meeting. At the same time, Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, was named to the new role of president and chief creative officer, also effective March 18. Iger remained as a senior advisor and board member through a transition period ending with his retirement from the company on December 31, 2026.

D'Amaro took office on March 18, 2026, becoming the latest in a short line of Disney chief executives and the second in succession, after Chapek, to reach the top job from the parks business. He was succeeded as chairman of Disney Experiences by Thomas Mazloum, previously president of the Disneyland Resort.

See also

• The Walt Disney Company
• Disney Experiences
• Bob Iger
• Walt Disney World
• Disneyland Resort
• Thomas Mazloum