Disney announced that Josh D’Amaro—chairman of Disney Experiences, overseeing the company’s theme parks, cruises, and consumer products—will take the helm of the over $175 billion entertainment conglomerate. Today, March 18, is his first day on the job.

D’Amaro has spent nearly three decades climbing the Mickey Mouse corporate ladder, but taking over Main Street USA wasn’t always part of the plan. The 55-year-old has said 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 very adult question: How would he ever support a family as an artist?

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

“In my head, I was going to be an artist—I was painting, sculpting, and studying art with a bit of business on the side,” D’Amaro told Georgetown students in 2025. “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 has revealed he doesn’t believe in pretending to have all the answers: Some of his most important growth came from admitting when he didn’t.

“The moment you say, ‘I don’t know,’ is one of the most freeing, 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 in. You’re not just empowering yourself, you’re empowering the people around you.”

An early career misstep may shape how D’Amaro approaches the CEO job

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

“I look past my computer to those photographs every day,” he said, “to remember the responsibility that I have.”

That sense of stewardship is likely to shape how D’Amaro approaches his new job as he officially takes the reins. But he isn’t likely to enact sweeping changes immediately. Instead, he approaches every new role with the same mindset: Start by listening.

“There’s gravity 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 Georgetown students. “Now, every time I walk into a new job, I say, ‘I don’t know.’ But I know you do, and I know I can help.”

That lesson came to D’Amaro from an early career misstep—when he incorrectly advised employees at his first meeting after a major promotion.

“Afterward, I asked the senior leaders: ‘Why didn’t anyone say anything?’ And they said: ‘You didn’t ask.’ I didn’t even stop to say, ‘Hey, I’m just Josh. I don’t really know what the hell I’m doing.’ If I had said that, the room would’ve come alive,” D’Amaro said. “They would’ve said: ‘We’ve got 10 ideas no one’s heard yet—let’s go.’”

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

“One of the things I tell my kids is, ‘Just say yes.’ If someone offers you something a little unfamiliar, say yes. There’s so much serendipity in life—you’ve got to open yourself up and explore,” D’Amaro said. “Everything is never lined up perfectly…Sometimes you just have to hold your breath and go for it.”

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

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

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

The comparison also underscores the stakes of the role. Iger first served as CEO from 2005 to 2020 but was brought back in 2022 after the rocky tenure of successor Bob Chapek. In acing the top job, Iger was known for his all-consuming work ethic, often starting his day at 4 a.m. and working late into the evening. His ties to the company stretch back nearly five decades, beginning as a weatherman for an ABC station in Ithaca, N.Y.—years before Disney acquired ABC in 1996.

Though the role comes with enormous expectations, it also comes with great reward. D’Amaro’s total compensation package is expected to be about $38 million. In comparison, Iger earned just over $45 million in compensation in 2025—up over 45% from his $31 million package in 2023, according to the Walt Disney Company’s SEC filings.

Iger credited his rise to three things: hard work, great mentors, and great luck. He has also made it clear leadership is about earning respect—not chasing approval.

“If you try to run a popularity contest, then you don’t make the tough decisions,” Iger said at Bloomberg’s Global Business Forum in 2019. “I think you have to be fair, accessible, and communicative—but popularity is not one of them.”

For D’Amaro—who already has a following among Disney’s most devoted fans—the task now is to carry that legacy forward while defining his own era, balancing continuity with change at a pivotal moment for the company.

A version of this story originally published on Fortune.com on February 3, 2026.

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