New York
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Josh D’Amaro begins his first day as Disney CEO on Wednesday.
For the past six years, D’Amaro has been the face of the company’s iconic parks as the chief of Disney Experiences and has overseen the most lucrative part of the entertainment behemoth, a division made up of theme parks, cruise lines and consumer products.
Under D’Amaro’s tenure, Disney launched a massive – and expensive – strategy to turbocharge its experiences around the world. In 2023, the company said it would double its previous investment and pour $60 billion into parks over the next 10 years.
Disney announced that it’s doubling its cruise ship fleet by 2031 and building a new park in Abu Dhabi. And D’Amaro is also at the helm of Disney’s $1.5 billion investment into Epic Games, which owns Fortnite.
But the parks remain expensive as visitors continue to struggle with the high cost of living, and D’Amaro has worked to promote cost transparency and package affordability in recent years.
Disney said there are more projects underway across D’Amaro’s previous division – whether it’s theme parks, cruises or digital – now than at any other time.
CNN’s Brian Stelter contributed to this report.
