The Walt Disney has named Morgan Stanley executive James Gorman as its next chairman. He will take on the role early next year, with Disney also announcing that it will name its new chief executive in early 2026.
Gorman will become chairman on January 2 2025, succeeding Mark Parker, who is leaving after serving on Disney’s board for nine years. The incoming chairman is currently chair of Disney’s succession planning committee. He serves as executive chairman at Morgan Stanley, but will be stepping down from that post at the end of the year.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger said, “The Disney board has benefited tremendously from James Gorman’s expertise and guidance, and we are lucky to have him as our next chairman – particularly as the Board continues to move forward with the succession process.”
“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new CEO, which we now expect to announce in early 2026,” Gorman said in a statement provided by Disney. “This timing reflects the progress the succession planning committee and the board are making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract in December 2026.”
The issue of CEO succession at Disney was a flash point in the protracted proxy fight launched by activist investor Nelson Peltz, who alleged Disney’s board failed to do its job with respect to CEO succession planning in not vetting former parks boss Bob Chapek, who was Iger’s personal pick to take over the job in 2020. The board ousted Chapek in November 2022 and Iger returned as CEO. Peltz ultimately lost his bid to shake up Disney’s board (seeking seats for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo) and earlier this year reportedly sold all his Disney shares.
Gorman said, “I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve as Disney’s chairman at this important moment in the company’s history. In the short time I have had the opportunity to work with Mark, I have come to appreciate and deeply respect his authentic leadership, humility and intelligence. I know all directors join me in saying we have been honored to serve with him as the chairman of the board.”
Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2006, Gorman held executive positions at Merrill Lynch and was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. He serves as a director of the Council on Foreign Relations, chair of the board of overseers of the Columbia Business School, and is a member of the Business Council.
Gorman formerly served as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, president of the Federal Advisory Council to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, and co-chairman of the business committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.