Disney announced that Josh D’Amaro—chairman of Disney Experiences, which oversees the company’s theme parks, cruises, and consumer products—will oversee nearly $200 billion entertainment conglomerate next month.

D’Amaro spent nearly three decades climbing the Mickey Mouse corporate ladder, but taking on Main Street USA wasn’t always part of the plan. The 54-year-old says uncertainty, not a master plan, has guided much of his career.

After growing up in Massachusetts, D’Amaro enrolled at Skidmore College intending to become a sculptor. But one night at the end of his sophomore year changed everything. D’Amaro found himself welding a 12-foot sculpture at 2 a.m., wrestling with a mature question: How does he support a family as an artist?

D’Amaro finished the piece—an abstract figure reaching for the sky—but soon made the executive decision to move on to a new career. He transferred to Georgetown University and pursued an undergraduate degree in business administration.

“I think, I’m going to be an artist—I paint, sculpt, and study art with a little business on the side,” D’Amaro told Georgetown students last year. “I loved it, but I realized I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do when I got out.”

That early moment of uncertainty would go on to shape his leadership philosophy. D’Amaro revealed that he doesn’t believe in pretending to have all the answers: Some of his most significant growth has come from admitting he doesn’t.

“The moment you say, ‘I don’t know,’ is one of the most liberating, liberating, invigorating feelings you can have,” D’Amaro added. “More than that – people respond to it. They want to talk to you, give you advice, pull you up.

An early career mistake may have shaped how D’Amaro approached the CEO job

D’Amaro talked to luck in 2024 from his office on Disney’s studio lot in Burbank, Calif., where a sketch of Cinderella’s castle hangs on one wall and five black-and-white photos of Walt Disney line another—a daily reminder of the legacy and opportunity before him.

“I look at my computer to the photos every day,” he said, “to remember the responsibility I have.”

That sense of stewardship will likely shape how D’Amaro approaches his new job as he prepares to officially take the reins from Iger on March 18. Instead, he approaches each new role with the same mindset: Start by listening.

“There’s a gravitas to a business card with a title on it. You start to take on that identity, but that’s not who you are,” D’Amaro told the Georgetown students. “Now, every time I go into a new job, I say, ‘I don’t know.’ But I know you will, and I know I can help. “

That lesson came to D’Amaro from an early career mistake—when he misadvised employees in his first meeting after a big promotion.

“Afterwards, I asked the senior leaders: ‘Why didn’t anyone say anything?’ And they said: ‘You did not ask.’ I didn’t stop and said, ‘Hey, I’m just Josh. I really don’t know what the hell I’m doing.’ If I had said that, the room would have come alive,” D’Amaro said. “They would have said: ‘We have 10 ideas that have never been heard of—let’s go.'”

Ultimately, being open to the unknown, the Disney CEO says, has critically shaped his career and life.

“One of the things I tell my kids is, ‘Just say yes.’ If someone offers you something unfamiliar, say yes. There’s so much serendipity in life—you just have to open yourself up and explore,” D’Amaro said. “Everything doesn’t line up perfectly…Sometimes you just have to hold your breath and do it.”

Disney’s new CEO is set to fill the big shoes left by Bob Iger

D’Amaro is stepping into one of the biggest jobs in media and in the shadow of a leader who has long been synonymous with Disney.

The new CEO and outgoing executive Iger are “very similar,” THE New York Times reported, pointing to their similar behavior and deep identification with the Disney brand. They even have the same birthday: Feb. 10.

The comparison also highlights the paper’s stakes. Iger first served as CEO from 2005 to 2020 but was brought back in 2022 after a rocky succession. Bob Chapek. In assuming the top job, Iger is known for his all-consuming work ethicusually starts his day at 4 in the morning and works till night. His relationship with the company goes back almost five decades, started as a weatherman for an ABC station in Ithaca, NY—years before Disney acquired ABC in 1996.

Although the role comes with great expectations, it also comes with great rewards. D’Amaro’s total compensation package is IMMINENT which is about $38 million. By comparison, Iger earned just over $45 million in compensation in 2025—more than 45% from his $31 million package in 2023, according to the Walt Disney Company’s. SEC filings.

Iger attributed to his rise of three things: hard work, good teachers, and a lot of luck. He also made it clear that leadership is about gaining respect—not seeking approval.

“When you try to run a popularity contest, then you don’t make tough decisions,” Iger said in Bloomberg’s Global Business Forum in 2019. “I think you need to be fair, approachable, and talkative—but popularity is not one of them.”

For D’Amaro—who already has a follows the most devoted Disney fans—The task now is to carry that legacy forward while setting his own time, balancing the pursuit of change at a pivotal moment for the company.