Chief Executive, The Walt Disney Co.
Iger, who leads The Walt Disney Co. in Burbank, has publicly stated his priority is to arrange for his replacement when his contract expires at the end of 2026, after the Disney veteran’s prior choice was forced out by the board in November 2022. With the 73-year-old back in the saddle, Iger wrestles with ballooning costs and growing competition for video streamer Disney+; balancing his brand’s sweet spot of traditional values with the current clamor for societal change and cost-cutting amid recession worries, which is underway. Iger has also pulled the trigger on buying all of streamer Hulu after Comcast sold its 33% share of the company to Disney for at least $8.6 billion. Disney already had a majority stake in the company and has ran Hulu since 2019. In March, Iger joined with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox to form a joint venture with sports programming. The as-yet unnamed project is aiming to launch in the fall.
YEARS ON LA500: 9
