Who is Josh D’Amaro? What you need to know about Disney’s new CEO

Who is Josh D’Amaro? What you need to know about Disney’s new CEO

Newly named Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro is a hospitality guru who has modelled himself so carefully after longtime chief Bob Iger that he even clothes like him, insiders told The Post on Tuesday.

A number of challenges await D’Amaro when he turns into head of the House of Mouse on March 18, starting from decrease worldwide tourism to elevated competitors to films. 

But sources said the 54-year-old who’s been working Disney’s parks and cruises is a “people person” who performs properly with others, giving him the mentality to climate future storms.

Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro has been described as a people particular person. Getty Images for SXSW

“He dresses exactly like Iger. Sweaters, collared shirts,” a Disney source said. “He’s a good guy, well liked. Iger likes to note how much ‘charisma’ Josh has.”

D’Amaro, whom Disney announced as its next CEO on Tuesday, is the reverse of Bob Chapek, Iger’s last handpicked successor, sources said.

Chapek, also a former theme parks chief, was referred to as cussed, gruff and unpolished, they said. He didn’t work properly with Iger, who stepped down after a 15-year run as CEO in 2020 and stayed on for Chapek’s transition — only to come again as chief exec after Chapek’s tenure didn’t work out.

Chapek lasted in the top job just two years. The stretch was marked by a blow up with Hollywood A-lister Scarlett Johansson over a contract dispute, sky-high theme park pricing, an costly “Star Wars”-themed resort that shuttered two years after opening and a battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that price the company its particular tax district, Reedy Creek.

Iger will stay on Disney’s board and function a senior adviser until his retirement on Dec. 31, 2026, Disney said Tuesday.

“Josh will manage the relationship with Iger much better than Chapek, who failed miserably in keeping Iger on the same side,” a source famous, including that D’Amaro has a “Teflon”-quality for missteps that Chapek lacked.

“Everything stuck to Chapek. Josh is much smoother and more like Iger,” another source said.

Longtime CEO Bob Iger is said to be impressed by D’Amaro’s people expertise, a source told The Post. Getty Images for Disney

A former sculptor who studied artwork at Skidmore College before transferring to Georgetown University to examine advertising, D’Amaro is thought of a shrewd businessman.

After graduating, he took a finance job at Gillette, then utilized for a strategy job at Disney in 1998. He was soon specializing in theme park advertising campaigns and finally moved to China to assist resuscitate Hong Kong Disneyland’s enterprise. A few years later, he labored with film director James Cameron to add “Avatar”-themed rides to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

When Chapek was elevated to CEO in 2020, D’Amaro turned chief of the company’s “experiences” division — proper during the COVID pandemic. The outbreak put a chokehold on Disney’s theme park and cruise enterprise, however gave D’Amaro a crash-course on dealing with catastrophe.

Disney’s enterprise has since returned to progress, and D’Amaro has sought to preserve increasing the theme parks and cruise division. The largest a part of the Disney enterprise, it brings in $36 billion in annual income.

D’Amaro faces a slew of challenges — including turning round Disney’s leisure enterprise. GC Images

Under each Chapek and Iger, D’Amaro has relied on elevating theme park pricing to juice profitability — a lot to the dismay of cash-strapped households.

The common price of a single-day ticket to Walt Disney World climbed 5% per 12 months from 2014 to 2024, outpacing inflation, according to CNBC.

A single-day ticket at Disney World can price $199 these days, with the worth round $104 at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. The price of meals, parking and souvenirs have also gone manner up, elevating issues that a Disney trip has turn out to be too costly for the common household.

Disney reported better-than-expected first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.63 on income of $25.98 billion on Monday. D’Amaro’s unit logged more than $10 billion in quarterly income for the first time — though that momentum is anticipated to slow down as fewer worldwide vacationers are anticipated to go to US points of interest.

Early in his profession, D’Amaro helped revive Hong Kong Disneyland’s enterprise. AP

Last 12 months, worldwide tourism to the US declined eight straight months, according to National Travel and Tourism Office data cited by Business Insider.

Still, D’Amaro has been on the lookout for methods to broaden Disney’s theme parks and cruises. He was credited for an formidable $60 billion expansion of the parks and cruise strains and is laying the groundwork for a new resort in Abu Dhabi, the Disney’s first outpost in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the company’s leisure enterprise is still grappling with the ongoing transfer away from film theaters and linear TV to streaming, plus potential disruptions stemming from artificial intelligence.

Aside from shifting to pricey digital platforms, D’Amaro must discover methods to rejuvenate major — however drained — franchises from Marvel that have been underperforming at the box workplace lately.

D’Amaro said he’ll give attention to gaming to assist Disney discover new streams of income. Getty Images

Before being tapped as CEO, D’Amaro was already main the effort to develop Disney’s presence in video games, partly by means of a $1.5 billion funding in Epic Games for a Fortnite project.

He beforehand said he needs to give video games “a bigger role at the company.” The Wall Street Journal reported in December that he is trying to combine “gaming technology” into Disney’s inventive processes.

“We envision this as a world or a universe that I think can be important not only to (the game) space, but to the Walt Disney Company,” the exec said in a 2024 interview with Reuters on his imaginative and prescient for the way gaming can usher in new revenues.

Even so, media insiders say D’Amaro is going to need a “vision” to convey the company into the next period of progress.

“It’s unclear whether he has the vision of strategy to manage the downs and ups,” a former Disney exec said. “But people are rooting for him.”

The Post has sought remark from Disney.

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