There has been no solid information on who will replace him and when those transitions will take place.
Iger has pushed back his retirement twice already, but now there are strong rumors that he may extend his stay a third time. With the studios performing so well and the parks worldwide in the midst of major expansions, it would be a rough time to bring a new president to the helm.
Speculation now points to Iger wanting to push his retirement at least through 2018 when the various construction projects at the parks worldwide start to die down, and many of the films currently being promoted have debuted.
Presumed successor Tom Staggs left last spring, with no obvious internal replacement, causing some to look beyond to candidates such as NBCUniversal’s Steve Burke or News Corp. president Peter Chernin.
On March 3, Disney hosts its annual shareholders meeting. It’s expected that Iger’s extension will be discussed at this meeting.
This article appears in Feb 1-7, 2017.