National Basketball Association commissioner Adam Silver is on the list of possible successors to The Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, according to a Fox Business report.
In addition to Silver, the hist included Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, and former Disney executive Kevin Mayer.
Iger stepped down as CEO of Disney in 2020, naming Bob Chapek, the head of the company’s parks division as his replacement. Chapek faced the pandemic and has a number of missteps, leading Disney’s board to bring Iger back
The board said one of Iger’s mandates was to identify a successor within two years.
Disney and the NBA are in business together, with ESPN televising regular season games and ABC broadcasting the NBA Finals. Iger is a big sports fan and was reportedly putting together a group to buy an NBA team.
Silver became commissioner of the NBA in 2014, succeeding David Stern. He spent eight years as president of NBA Entertainment. His contract with the NBA runs through 2024, according to Front Office Sports.
Walden was named one of Disney’s top executives in Iger’s reorganization of the company, which was designed to give creative executives more control. She recently named her own senior executive team. She joined Disney when it acquired 21st Century Fox.
Before leaving Disney, Mayer was a key executive in the launch of Disney Plus. Since leaving, he has been CEO of TikTok and now runs Candle Media, which has been buying up production companies.
Other Disney execs that Fox Business listed as possible internal contenders include Alan Bergman, the other co-chair of entertainment, Josh D’Amaro, chairman of parks and resorts, and Jimmy Pitaro, president of ESPN. ■
