D\u2019Amaro will succeed Disney CEO Bob Iger on March 18 during the company\u2019s annual meeting.<\/b>
\nDisney Experiences Chairman Josh D\u2019Amaro\u2019s 28-year Disney career started at Disneyland in 1998 and in six weeks will culminate in his ascent to the helm of the Burbank-based entertainment giant built by Walt Disney.
D\u2019Amaro will succeed Disney CEO Bob Iger on March 18 during the company\u2019s annual meeting.
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Since 2020, D\u2019Amaro has overseen 185,000 employees at Disney\u2019s 12 theme parks around the globe along with the Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Storyliving by Disney and Walt Disney Imagineering.
D\u2019Amaro has an extensive history with Disney parks \u2014 overseeing Disneyland, Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom and the Walt Disney World resort before rising to run the company\u2019s largest business division with $36 billion in annual revenue.Josh D\u2019Amaro, Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products during the opening ceremony for Avengers Campus inside Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, CA, on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)
During that time, D\u2019Amaro was instrumental in the creation of Pandora \u2014 The World of Avatar at Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom, Star Wars: Galaxy\u2019s Edge at Disneyland and Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios, Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure and Disney Adventure World, Mickey and Minnie\u2019s Runaway Railway at Disneyland and Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios, Zootopia at Shanghai Disneyland and World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea.
Disney plans to invest $30 billion in theme park expansion projects around the globe over the next decade.Josh D\u2019Amaro, Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resort, during a window dedication ceremony along Main Street, U.S.A. inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, April 28, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)
Upcoming projects shepherded by D\u2019Amaro during the largest global expansion in Disney Experiences history include an Avatar themed land at Disney California Adventure, Monstropolis at Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios, a Cars-themed Piston Peak and Disney Villains Land at the Magic Kingdom, Tropical Americas at Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom and a new park in Abu Dhabi.
D\u2019Amaro, 54, joined the company as a sales and marketing executive at the Disneyland resort in 1998 after beginning his career at Gillette.Josh D\u2019Amaro, president of the Disneyland Resort, poses for group picture with children from local non-profits during their visit to Star Wars: Galaxy\u2019s Edge at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, May 30, 2019. Disney invited more than 600 youngsters from local nonprofits to a sneak peek of the new land. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)
During his Disney career, D\u2019Amaro has held leadership roles in finance, business strategy, creative development and operations.
D\u2019Amaro succeeded Bob Chapek as Disney parks boss in May 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic that eventually closed every Disney theme park around the globe.Cynthia Randez takes a picture of her son, Apollo Leisz, 7, with Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Josh D\u2019Amaro on Main Street U.S.A. just after the gates opened in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, April 30, 2021. The resort\u2019s parks have been closed for 412 days due to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)
Chapek\u2019s reign as Disney CEO would be brief and contentious \u2014 with the company bringing back Iger in 2022 to right the ship and help select a new leader.
The Disney board of directors kicked off the search in January 2023 and eventually narrowed the field to D\u2019Amaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden.
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Walden will become Disney\u2019s first Chief Creative Officer and help D\u2019Amaro navigate one of his blind spots \u2014 Disney\u2019s TV and film business.
Iger will stick around until the end of 2026 as a Disney board member and a senior advisor where he will continue to mentor D\u2019Amaro during the transition.<\/p>\n