Disney is reportedly contemplating Digital Arts CEO Andrew Wilson as a successor to Disney CEO Bob Iger, in accordance with a report within the Wall Road Journal.
Wilson is reportedly one in all a number of exterior candidates, in accordance with unnamed sources cited by the WSJ. EA declined to touch upon the story.
Disney is reportedly working with recruiters from the agency Heidrick & Struggles to assessment exterior candidates, and the search agency has recognized at the least two extra potential exterior candidates, the sources advised the WSJ.
There have been rumors floated previously 12 months that Disney needed going to purchase EA, notably when the partnership on Star Wars video games was going rather well. At the moment, the concept of Wilson turning into CEO of Disney was additionally floated.
Our Disney professional Mike Minotti famous that Wilson could possibly be an odd selection. Operating a Disney requires information of films, merchandise, theme parks, TV, subscriptions, sports activities, cruise strains, video games and extra. Wilson might solely cowl a few these bases.
“I think that Iger is afraid of making another mistake with video games, but recognizes the synergies EA brings to Disney,” stated Michael Pachter, an analyst for video games at Wedbush Securities. “They could integrate Ultimate Team with ESPN and ultimately perhaps even get into real money sports wagering. Andrew is young enough to replace Iger, has 10 years of CEO experience and has clearly built a great business at EA. I’m not sure who else is in the mix (there may be media types who make more sense), but Andrew would eliminate the concern about another video game failure by Disney. It is plausible at least that he is under consideration.”
The WSJ stated inside candidates are Disney co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro.
