The long search to find Bob Iger’s successor is over (again)—and the new CEO is a sculptor turned executive.
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.
