The results are in for Kidscreen‘s online poll asking readers to predict the executive who is most likely to take the reins at Disney once CEO Bob Iger’s contract expires at the end of next year.

The media giant isn’t expected to announce the new boss until early 2026, but here are your early picks.

Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden is the clear frontrunner among Kidscreen readers, with 43.8% of the votes from our list of choices, and Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro took second place with 24.6%.

In supporting Walden for the top spot, poll respondents said the time has come for female leadership, while also highlighting her entertainment background as a strong factor. “Disney likes to hire their CEOs from within, because they feel that their dual movies and theme park structure is unique,” said one respondent. “After [Bob Chapek] messed things up, I think they’re more apt to tap someone from the media side instead of parks this time.”

Alan Bergman—another potential internal pick who currently serves as co-chair alongside Walden—received 12.3% of the votes, with one respondent theorizing that Bergman could be a strong candidate to become co-CEO alongside Abigail Disney. 

Overall, Kidscreen readers said it’s less likely for an external candidate like Ynon Kreiz (CEO of Mattel) or Andrew Wilson (Electronic Arts CEO) to be chosen, although Kreiz still cornered 10.5% of readers’ votes. 

And in an interesting prediction in the “other” category, one respondent predicted that Disney will buy Candle Media, which would pave the way for its co-founder and former Mouse House exec Kevin Mayer to take the helm. “Shareholders would love this, [as it would take] them back to a more stable time,” the respondent noted.

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