Why Josh D’Amaro won out in the Disney battle with ‘sharp elbowed’ Dana Walden
“At Fox, I always joke, we were raised by wolves.” That was a quote Dana Walden gave to Variety in a 2022 cover profile of her and it has trailed her ever since.
If there’s a spurned figure in the appointment of D’Amaro as Iger’s successor, it has to be the 61-year old Walden who was considered the other top candidate for the CEO job. Walden has been Disney’s top TV exec since Peter Rice left in 2022, and was viewed as the frontrunner to replace Iger. Walden would’ve been Disney’s first female CEO. She’s also a beloved figure among Hollywood’s creative community, and counts Kamala Harris and CAA’s Bryan Lourd as close friends.
Stylistically, Walden and D’Amaro couldn’t be more different. Within Disney, Walden is known as a savvy operator who can wield sharp elbows when necessary. (The fact she’s the last top Fox executive still standing at Disney says something.) Walden lives in Brentwood, not far from Iger, and is a fixture at industry events while also being active in Democratic politics.
D’Amaro has spent much of his career outside of LA: He lives in Orange County and has been so outside of the Hollywood bubble that top agents at WME, UTA and CAA might have a hard time picking him out of a lineup.
The execs’ personalities certainly played a role — but D’Amaro’s ascension may have more to do with the realities of a rapidly shifting media landscape. (D’Amaro’s Experiences division recently posted record profits totaling 38% of Disney’s total revenue and 71% of its operating income.) “If this was an election among Disney employees, Josh would have won in a landslide because he’s beloved and really smart and strategic,” said a Disney insider. “It’s not that Dana’s not smart, and she has a decent story to tell, but if you’re James Gorman [chair of Disney’s board], and you evaluate these two candidates, there’s really no question. Josh is the most qualified guy.”
Executives at rival studios agree. “Dana is not popular,” sniffed one high-ranking executive at a major studio. “Everybody is just so happy that it’s Josh.”
Around town, the agenting class preferred Walden. “She was always accessible and pretty direct,” says one top agent. “For those of us in the creative community, you would love to see one of our own.”
Disney’s board has given Walden added oversight of film studio operations which includes Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm. But, “What exactly is her mandate? Does this role come with real influence or is it symbolic? Is this simply Dana being a pipeline for talent to make sure they’re empowered, or is she going to be telling [Marvel whiz] Kevin Feige what movies he is going to be making?” asked a source.
The last time Disney tried to consolidate film and TV, it ended badly. Chapek installed longtime ally Kareem Daniel to oversee a newly created department, DMED, which was supposed to act as a central hub for all streaming and TV production decisions. It became a case study in Chapek’s ineffectual management style as it stripped spending power from Disney’s creative leaders and led to a lot of bruised egos.
Stay tuned….
