Bob Iger’s keeping tight-lipped on who might succeed him as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company as he is set to leave at the end of 2026. But he did share some thoughts on what qualities he hopes the next person in charge will have.
Iger appeared on the British podcast “The Rest Is History” in an episode that focused on the legacy of Walt Disney and the 70th anniversary of Disneyland, which Iger gave hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook a private tour of.
But the conversation did turn to the question of Iger’s successor, whom Disney is expected to name sometime early next year. Among the suspected candidates from within the company are Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden and Disney Experiences chair Josh D’Amaro.
Iger previously left the company at the end of 2021 after picking Disney parks chief Bob Chapek as his successor, but was back in November 2022 after a short and tumultuous run for Chapek. Iger did not mention that period during the interview, but did provide some general thoughts on what he believed should be his next successor’s guiding star.
“The world is changing so rapidly and in such profound ways. As I think about the future, I would hope that my successors would be respectful of our past and well aware of the values that really created the value of the company in the first place, and carry them forward, but not let anything that’s been done in the past get in the way of bringing the company into the future,” Iger said.
“And that’s really constant innovation, a constant exploration, constant desire to reinvent or to invent even more than anything else. That’s what I’d want. But I think we do occupy a place in the world as great storytellers, perhaps maybe the greatest in many respects. And I would hope that position would continue for years and years, decades ahead,” he added.
As for how he’d like to be remembered, Iger said that he would hope that he’d be remembered as someone who helped usher Disney to “a place that even Walt would be proud of.”
“What that means is more great storytelling to a larger audience, more innovation, more risk-taking, more really creation of happiness. It’s really that simple,” Iger said. “At one point I thought, Well, OK, you’re now running Disney. What’s the most you want out of it? Well, not don’t screw it up, but it’s much more than that. I really have been mindful of the duty that I feel has been handed to me to make it even better than it’s ever been.”
Listen to Iger’s interview on “The Rest is History” here.
