New Disney CEO awarded pay package worth nearly $40 million

Incoming Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro will receive a compensation package valued at approximately $38 million as he prepares to take the helm of the entertainment giant on March 18.

D’Amaro, currently the chairman of Disney’s experiences division, will receive an annual base salary of $2.5 million and a one-time signing bonus of $9.75 million. The deal also includes annual long-term stock incentives valued at $26.2 million.

The incoming executive is eligible for an annual performance-based bonus of up to 250% of his base salary if he meets specific company targets.

As part of the leadership transition, Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden will be named president and chief creative officer. Walden’s compensation package is valued at approximately $24 million.

Outgoing CEO Bob Iger will transition to a role as a senior advisor and board member through the end of 2026. Iger is set to receive a compensation package totaling $45.8 million in 2025.

Disney’s appointment of Josh D’Amaro as Chief Executive, backed by a massive compensation package, signals a definitive strategic pivot toward its most reliable profit engine: the Parks and Experiences division. D’Amaro’s ascent from the segment that has historically served as Disney’s primary cash cow—sustaining the bottom line even as the streaming business navigated significant headwinds—underscores a board-level priority to maximize margins from the company’s core physical assets.

The $38 million compensation package, heavily weighted toward long-term equity, is a calculated mechanism to align D’Amaro’s incentives directly with shareholder interests. His success will be measured by market capitalization recovery, a high-stakes mandate as he prepares to succeed Bob Iger, the industry titan who returned in 2022 to stabilize the conglomerate.

Simultaneously, the elevation of Dana Walden to President and Chief Creative Officer serves as a critical strategic anchor. This move is designed to retain a top-tier creative executive responsible for the content pipeline across Disney+, Hulu, and linear networks. The resulting leadership structure effectively bifurcates Disney’s recovery strategy into two pillars: operational efficiency and physical asset monetization under D’Amaro, and creative dominance to remain competitive in the "streaming wars" under Walden. For Wall Street, this dual-track approach offers a much-needed sense of stability and institutional clarity following years of executive volatility.

While leadership changes at Disney—a household name for many Vietnamese-American families—don’t carry a direct economic impact for the community, the company’s future direction under a new CEO will certainly shape the cultural content and theme park experiences we consume. From family weekend trips to Disneyland to the representation we see on screen, Disney’s new chapter will continue to influence the entertainment landscape for the diaspora.