As Disney looks for a successor to replace outgoing boss Bob Iger, EA CEO Andrew Wilson is one big name now in the mix.
Who will lead The Walt Disney Company into the murky future? It’s a question the entertainment juggernaut has asked itself for some months now, as its current CEO Bob Iger plans to retire in just over a year’s time.
Netflix head honcho Ted Sarandos has downplayed rumours that he might be in the running. But according to a new report, there’s an unexpected new name in the mix: Andrew Wilson, currently the CEO of Electronic Arts – one of the biggest companies in the videogames industry.
This comes from a reputable source, too: the Wall Street Journal (via IGN) has sources which suggest that Wilson’s name has been floated among Disney board members in recent months. It’s also said that two other unnamed candidates are also in contention besides Wilson.
Aged 50, eerily fresh-faced and hailing from Australia, Andrew Wilson is a fan of martial arts and golf, and joined EA in 2000. He quickly rose through the ranks thereafter, and was crowned its new CEO in 2013 shortly after John Riccitiello dramatically resigned that March.
Bob Iger’s contract is set to expire in 2026, ending his second stint as Disney’s boss. Iger had previously retired from the role in 2020, leaving the position to Bob Chapek. The latter Bob’s reign was brief, however, and a series of financial wobbles saw Iger return to the CEO chair in November 2022.
If Wilson does get the gig, then his experience at EA could be of use to Disney given its recent moves into the videogame realm. In February, the Mouse House invested $1.5bn in Epic Games, effectively landing itself a 10 percent stake in the company responsible for Fortnite and Unreal Engine. As part of that deal, Disney and Epic will collaborate on a “new persistent universe” which it hopes will be a place where users will immerse themselves in Disney brands – Marvel, Star Wars, Wreck-It Ralph and the like – and hopefully spend some of their pocket money.
“When I saw Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and Millennials – the amount of time they were spending in terms of total media screen time on video games, it was stunning,” Iger, seemingly only having just noticed how much people use smart devices, said at the time of the deal. “Equal to what they spend on TV and movies. The conclusion I reached – we have to be there.”
There are still some months before a successor is chosen, and other names are likely to surface between now and early 2026. With the entertainment industry facing an uncertain (possibly AI-riven) future, whoever takes over Disney will have some interesting times ahead of them.
