Why co-CEOs may be a bad idea

As 2025 enters its final months, Disney inches closer to the announcement the entire entertainment industry has been waiting for — who will take over for Bob Iger as the company’s next CEO.

Disney has publicly stated it will name Iger’s successor in early 2026. Two internal candidates stand out as the most likely contenders: Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden and Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro. Walden brings decades of Hollywood expertise; D’Amaro worked in consumer products before his elevation in the theme parks division all the way up to running the unit when its previous leader, Bob Chapek, was named Disney CEO in 2020.

Given Walden’s and D’Amaro’s complementary skill sets — and given recent momentum behind co-CEO appointments both in media and beyond — the Disney board could opt to select both to jointly replace Iger.

It’s a strategy rival Netflix has similarly — and effectively — used since 2020, when Reed Hastings named Ted Sarandos his co-CEO. Three years later, Hastings relinquished that post and moved on to become the company’s executive chairman, elevating Greg Peters into his spot as co-CEO.

Netflix’s success has contributed to a recent co-CEO wave. Last month, Spotify named Alex Norstrom and Gustav Soderstrom as co-CEOs to replace founder Daniel Ek; Oracle named Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia to jointly lead the company; and Comcast tapped president Mike Cavanagh to join longtime CEO Brian Roberts in the chief role.

But while a duel CEO structure may superficially make sense for Disney, company insiders and corporate governance experts warn there are considerations specific to the Mouse House that would make such a dynamic unwise.

Last year, Iger called Sarandos and asked him about Netflix’s co-CEO model. That call was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in November, and CNBC can confirm it took place, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sarandos and co-CEO Peters have different areas of passion, according to people familiar with Netflix’s leadership styles, who asked to remain unnamed because the details are private. That’s allowed the two leaders to make decisions without stepping on each other’s toes. If Sarandos and Peters disagree on something, they work it out by deferring to the leader who is more passionate about the answer. That typically means Sarandos wins out if it’s a content or creative decision, and Peters triumphs if the decision is more product- or technology-based. A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment.

If there’s a grey area, the co-CEOs can always fall back on Hastings, the company’s co-founder and CEO of 25 years. Peters and Sarandos worked together under Hastings for many years. That comfort level — and Netflix’s famously un-hierarchical corporate culture — have helped maintain a dual CEO structure without turf wars and while serving shareholders, Sarandos told Iger, according to the people familiar.

Since Peters stepped in as co-CEO in January 2023, Netflix shares have gained about 275%.

While Hastings has turned his attention to hobbies like skiing since giving up his CEO role, Iger has developed a reputation for wanting to hang around as Disney’s head honcho. He’s five times pushed backed retirement to remain at the helm, and he came back to replace Chapek in 2022 after hand-picking him as his replacement.

Second, during Chapek’s tenure, Iger didn’t fully give up his operational responsibilities right away, choosing to direct the company’s “creative endeavors” for more than a year. That led to an ugly power-sharing situation between Iger and Chapek, as CNBC detailed in 2023. Even if Walden and D’Amaro…