On October 21st local time in the United States, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced the appointment of James P. Gorman to replace Mark G. Parker as Chairman of the Disney Board, effective January 2, 2025.
James Goldman is currently the Executive Chairman of internationally renowned investment bank Morgan Stanley. In fact, James Goldman has just completed his one-year tenure as Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley. On October 25, 2023, Morgan Stanley announced a leadership change after a 14 year hiatus, with Ted Pick becoming the company's CEO and James Goleman, the then CEO, becoming the executive chairman. According to Disney's announcement, James Goldman will step down as Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley on December 31, 2024.
In addition, James Goleman is currently the Chairman of the Disney Board Succession Planning Committee, which is working to prepare and determine Disney's next CEO.
A key priority before us is the appointment of a new CEO, which we expect to announce in early 2026, "Gorman said." This timing reflects the progress being made by the succession planning committee and board, and will leave ample time for a successful transition before Bob Iger's contract ends in December 2026
After James Goleman takes over, Mark Parker will leave the Disney board of directors after serving Disney for 9 years. Mark Parker is still the Executive Chairman of Nike. According to Disney's statement, Mark Parker will focus on "other areas of work" after leaving Disney.
On August 7th local time, Disney released its third quarter performance report for the fiscal year 2024 ending on June 29th, 2024. Financial data shows that Disney's revenue during the reporting period was approximately $23.155 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4%; The net profit attributable to the parent company was approximately 2.621 billion US dollars, turning losses into profits year-on-year. The net loss attributable to the parent company in the same period last year was approximately 460 million US dollars.