The Walt Disney Company is getting a new CEO, and both fans and Cast Members alike are obsessed with him.
Josh D’Amaro at Destination D23, 2023 ©Disney
Josh D’Amaro takes the mantle as CEO on March 18th, 2026, and he has big, Mickey Mouse yellow shoes to fill. There’s no doubt that the leader of the media giant will bear the expectations of millions of fans and Cast Members alike, but he has one thing going for him ahead of time — people seem to love him.
Harvard Business Review recently did a piece on Josh D’Amaro, describing three separate instances where their reporter shadowed the CEO-to-be at his job as Chairman of Disney Experiences. And at the beginning of the article, the reporter includes the following quote:
“He wasn’t a public figure, but he was someone people wanted to work for, follow, and build with. The ‘Josh effect,’ people called it.”
Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Josh D’Amaro at the 2023 Destination D23 fan convention. ©Disney
Throughout the various shadowing days, the reporter witnessed guests and Cast Members alike greeting D’Amaro with enthusiasm. Park visitors would smile and request selfies, and employees would give hugs and recount stories of down-to-earth conversations in visits past. The article went on to say:
“What I was seeing in these moments was not personality or charisma. Josh was practicing a specific leadership capability—one that most organizations do not yet have language for, one that I call ‘experience intelligence,’ or the ability to read and shape the human experience. Under his leadership, cast members did not respond because they were pressured. They responded because they felt seen, trusted, capable, and proud of what they were a part of.”
©Disney
How does D’Amaro accomplish this? He focuses on creating extreme positive experiences with the people he interacts with. Fans “liking” something isn’t enough…they must LOVE it. To create an extreme positive reaction, you must offer an equally positive experience. “Leaders with experience intelligence understand that love isn’t a coating of softness. Rather, it is an ingredient—a specific cluster of feelings which an experience either creates or fails to create.”
Josh D’Amaro in Magic Kingdom
Getting guests and Cast Members to say they “loved” something instead of a milder feeling of like, respect, or enjoyment makes all the difference. In fact, D’Amaro took this into consideration with the Mandalorian & Grogu-inspired overlay of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. When referencing the current version of the ride, D’Amaro noted, “Guests like it, but they don’t love it.”
Josh D’Amaro in Magic Kingdom
The redesign of the attraction means that each person riding has more influence over the outcome of the “mission.” Small changes like these, when thinking about the future of Disney, are what cultivate the “Josh effect.” Curating an environment and experience that people truly love gives them a positive association with D’Amaro. And those positive feelings? They could make all the difference as he takes the office of CEO and makes his first few major decisions at the helm.
©Disney
We’ll make sure to keep you in the loop as Josh D’Amaro steps into his new role, and we’ll share any big news that comes from The Walt Disney Company after this change.
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I think it’s because D’Armo is from the park side of the business. Chepak camemore from the sales and not a people person. To him, was all about profits, not to mention he had no desire to engage and connect with most employees. So it is no wonder why do many people dislked him so much. Iger was a big picture guy who did care about the parks, but not as much as when he first arrived. I think and hope D’Armo will focus mainly on the parks while still maintaining and growing other Disneys business’s.
I am excited for Josh D’Amaro’s new role at Disney. Josh understands and really “gets” the emotional connection, which was a hallmark of Disney’s leadership model before Bob Iger. Bob Iger never understood this and poo-pooed it as a consequence, and it showed.
I think one thing that makes him appealing is his extremely pleasant demeanor. You never see him without a smile on his face. And he seems to be really enjoying himself, no matter who he’s with or what he’s doing. That kind of positivity is reflected back to him.