Disney puts Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman in charge of finding Bob Iger’s successor

Walt Disney on Wednesday named board member and Morgan Stanley executive chairman James Gorman to chair its succession planning committee, which is looking for the next chief executive officer.

Disney won a months-long proxy war with activist investor Nelson Peltz who argued the company had underperformed in the streaming-television era and criticized its succession planning.

The board has extended Iger’s retirement date five times, including pulling him back from an initial retirement in 2022 to replace his hand-picked successor Bob Chapek.

Last year, Iger, who was the CEO from 2005 to 2020 before his 2022 reappointment, said he would extend his stay through 2026 and “definitely” step down when his contract ends.

Gorman joined as a Disney director this year and oversaw the recent succession process at Morgan Stanley. He was its CEO from 2010 to 2023 and will be ceding his role as executive chairman at Disney in December.

“Succession planning is a top priority of the Board,” Chairman Mark Parker said. The company said it was reviewing internal and external candidates for the CEO position.

The company also said Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors and Calvin McDonald, CEO of Lululemon Athletica will continue to serve on the succession planning committee, which has met six times so far in fiscal 2024.

In addition, the board has discussed the search for the next CEO at all of its regularly scheduled meetings this year, Disney said.