Who do you think will replace Bob Iger as Disney’s next CEO?

Disney is really wanting its chief executive to stay, or do they?

This morning, Disney announced that its Board of Directors has agreed to extend Bob Iger’s employment contract once again. His new set date of departure is July 2, 2019.

Directly following that announcement, Iger and his wife, journalist, and new dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, sat down for an interview for a USC event in Los Angeles where he addressed the extension and his future successor.

“Succession is a complicated thing,” he said. “The Board and I felt that we could use more time to spend on transition and make time for a smooth transition.”

Iger is right in saying that replacing a CEO at Disney is far from being a ‘dream come true.’ From the dramatic days of replacing Michael Eisner to not being able to confirm his COO Tom Staggs‘ as heir apparent with the Board, it has always been a complicated matter.

The idea that they haven’t been able to find a successor yet is quite intriguing, however. Is the extension really because they want to vet out their candidates more or have they really found anyone who could match Iger’s vision and path to success?

As an entertainment company, it has so many hands in so many industries (movies, theme parks, consumer products, etc.). That person ultimately has to match the experience that Iger, 66, has had in his nearly 45 years with Disney, as well as compete with the financial success that Iger has made through his leadership.

He gave no hint at who that successor might be, so the question remains: who will be the next CEO of Disney? I’ve already chimed in to who I think would make a great candidate, but now we want to hear from you.

Give us a good, thought-out, answer and we might feature it AND maybe YOU in a future podcast! Simply tweet us @DisneyExaminer with your thoughts or email us directly at podcast@disneyexaminer.com.

Mr. Iger – we’re happy to have you discuss on the podcast, too.