Longtime Disney Adult Josh D’Amaro has officially been named the next CEO of The Walt Disney Company. My reaction wasn’t surprise — it was relief. That's because the thing you need to know about Josh is that he is a leader who can be trusted with our LGBTQ+ stories, both in the boardroom and on Main Street, U.S.A.
I’ve seen firsthand the impact a leader like Josh can have on people, especially his queer employees and colleagues, like me.
From Times Square Studios producing for Good Morning America, to Pinewood Studios in the U.K. directing a live-stream event for Lucasfilm, to a humble beginning as a PhotoPass Photographer at 18, I’ve spent close to 20 years working across the enterprise that is The Walt Disney Company. In these roles, I’ve worked alongside executives and frontline workers alike at parks, film studios, and the news division. Together, we've launched culture-shifting platforms. I’ve seen Disney at its best — and I’ve also experienced it at its most conflicted from the inside.
I was an architect and one of the writers of the initial letter sent to then-CEO Bob Chapek on behalf of LGBTQ+ employee resource group leaders across Disney, in which we tried to warn (and offer support to) the C-Suite about Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law in 2022, well before you saw the headlines. Disney brass at that time didn’t take us seriously until the damage we tried to prevent was already done. This, my friends, was a failure to put people over spreadsheets, and you bet I told Bob C. that when I and others were called in for our crisis calls with him and Disney leadership.
Through it all, some leaders – like Josh – were not tending to cameras or waiting for things to blow over. They were tending to workers. And that distinction matters. It’s the difference between optics and trust. That’s because Josh and his circle recognize Disney’s cultural weight and its accountability to its storytellers.
The last time I spoke at length with Josh was for the launch of the Disney Wish cruise ship, in my former role as co-host of the Disney D23: Inside Disney podcast. What struck me then was that his sense of responsibility doesn’t shift depending on whether he’s onstage or backstage. When he speaks with you, he has your full attention. He listens. He asks questions. And he consistently values more voices in the room rather than fewer; he understands that quality storytelling, the kind that moves both audiences and the bottom line, comes from inclusion, not control.
Josh started his Disney career in 1988 at Disneyland and rose through the ranks, working across nearly every part of the Parks segment internationally, from operations and finance to sales and licensing. He didn’t make this rise through Disney by accident or optics. He rose because people trusted him. And not just fans or executives, either, but the Cast Members (as employees are known at Disney) — the real magic-makers — trusted him and still do.
The way Josh has led the parks division is exactly how I envision him leading the company as a whole. He will casually stroll through the parks, strike up conversations with guests, and check in with his cast. He sets real intention on those visits, making some of those drop-ins on special events like Disneyland Pride Nite or Gay Days at Walt Disney World. For Josh, all voices at the table are mandatory, and some of his top leadership at the parks around the world are out LGBTQ+ executives. This is the kind of leadership I expect he will model and encourage across Disney: leadership grounded in less fear, less self-censorship, and a deeper confidence in the stories (and storytellers) Disney chooses to tell, on whatever screen – stage – they’re told on.
All this matters now more than ever.
Disney isn’t just subject to the economic pressure and political hostility of our time; companies like Disney are fully responsible for driving much of it. Naming Josh as CEO tells us — finally — that the Disney board understands that shareholder value and cultural currency are intertwined in ways that can’t be reduced to a presentation deck or an earnings forecast. You cannot spreadsheet trust. You have to earn it. A unanimous vote by the board for Josh cements this.
That is why the pairing of Josh with Dana Walden, named as Disney’s first president and chief creative officer, is so significant, too. You see, Dana has spent her career advocating with creators and creatives, especially when the work carried cultural weight and real business risk. Together, Josh and Dana represent a version of Disney leadership that understands something fundamental: reflecting the world we live in is not political. It’s aspirational. It’s the Disney ideal.
And to be clear, the economic and political winds are not in Disney’s favor with these leadership appointments. Take the Jimmy Kimmel saga for what you want, but the facts are that cultural backlash is loud, and the market pressure is relentless. The silver lining here is that Josh and Dana have already proven they are leaders of this moment precisely because they rely on more than a bottom line. They lead with judgment, empathy, and conviction, and they understand that long-term brand power is built through people, not panic.
When people talk about inclusion or belonging at Disney, they often focus on the moments that played out publicly. What’s unseen are the countless conversations behind closed doors: the convening with creatives, the internal advocacy, the steady leadership inside units while others absorbed the heat in the public arena. Josh and Dana stayed close to their people in their respective lines of business. And they led with pride, even when the moment was uncomfortable.
And while Disney is far from perfect on the representation and visibility front, it is a leader in this area. This leadership understands that mandate. So, what excites me about this next chapter is not just Josh and Dana’s appointments, but what they represent: the continuation of a leadership and philosophy Bob Iger helped solidify, one that puts faith in the people doing the work and the families Disney reflects. Both Josh and Dana understand that Disney’s power has always come from an emotional contract with audiences: that their stories – our stories – matter; that families like ours deserve to be seen, and that our dreams and hopes belong in Disney stories as much as any.
Tony Morrison is an Emmy, Murrow, and GLAAD Award-winning producer and journalist who has spent nearly two decades of his professional career at The Walt Disney Company, from an Orlando cast member to "Good Morning America" as a senior producer, and a co-host of the "D23 Inside Disney.” He founded PRIDE ABC News, the news network’s first-ever LGBTQ+ employee resource group for LGBTQ+ journalists, and he was part of the LGBTQ+ leadership that helped navigate the company's response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill in 2022. He is now the founder of his own media company: Morrison Media Group, leading in LGBTQ+ talent publicity, news, and brand strategy consulting.
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