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Disney will name Bob Iger's replacement in early 2026; James Gorman to become board chair next year

Former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman will replace Nike Executive Chairman Mark Parker as chairman in January.

Pushing the date back to early 2026 will give the board more time to conduct due diligence on both internal and external candidates, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Gorman said in a CNBC interview in March, before taking over as the board's succession chair, that Disney was running a "forward-looking, forward-leaning, incredibly disciplined process." Still, while putting a specific timeline on naming a successor adds a bit of clarity to the search, it also means the question of who will take over for Iger will continue to hover over the company for another year.

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