The Walt Disney Company is getting a new CEO, and both fans and Cast Members alike are obsessed with him.

Josh D’Amaro at Destination D23, 2023 ©Disney

Josh D’Amaro takes the mantle as CEO on March 18th, 2026, and he has big, Mickey Mouse yellow shoes to fill. There’s no doubt that the leader of the media giant will bear the expectations of millions of fans and Cast Members alike, but he has one thing going for him ahead of time — people seem to love him.

Harvard Business Review recently did a piece on Josh D’Amaro, describing three separate instances where their reporter shadowed the CEO-to-be at his job as Chairman of Disney Experiences. And at the beginning of the article, the reporter includes the following quote:

“He wasn’t a public figure, but he was someone people wanted to work for, follow, and build with. The ‘Josh effect,’ people called it.”

Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Josh D’Amaro at the 2023 Destination D23 fan convention. ©Disney

Throughout the various shadowing days, the reporter witnessed guests and Cast Members alike greeting D’Amaro with enthusiasm. Park visitors would smile and request selfies, and employees would give hugs and recount stories of down-to-earth conversations in visits past. The article went on to say:

“What I was seeing in these moments was not personality or charisma. Josh was practicing a specific leadership capability—one that most organizations do not yet have language for, one that I call ‘experience intelligence,’ or the ability to read and shape the human experience. Under his leadership, cast members did not respond because they were pressured. They responded because they felt seen, trusted, capable, and proud of what they were a part of.”

©Disney

How does D’Amaro accomplish this? He focuses on creating extreme positive experiences with the people he interacts with. Fans “liking” something isn’t enough…they must LOVE it. To create an extreme positive reaction, you must offer an equally positive experience. “Leaders with experience intelligence understand that love isn’t a coating of softness. Rather, it is an ingredient—a specific cluster of feelings which an experience either creates or fails to create.”

Josh D’Amaro in Magic Kingdom

Getting guests and Cast Members to say they “loved” something instead of a milder feeling of like, respect, or enjoyment makes all the difference. In fact, D’Amaro took this into consideration with the Mandalorian & Grogu-inspired overlay of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. When referencing the current version of the ride, D’Amaro noted, “Guests like it, but they don’t love it.”

Josh D’Amaro in Magic Kingdom

The redesign of the attraction means that each person riding has more influence over the outcome of the “mission.” Small changes like these, when thinking about the future of Disney, are what cultivate the “Josh effect.” Curating an environment and experience that people truly love gives them a positive association with D’Amaro. And those positive feelings? They could make all the difference as he takes the office of CEO and makes his first few major decisions at the helm.

©Disney

We’ll make sure to keep you in the loop as Josh D’Amaro steps into his new role, and we’ll share any big news that comes from The Walt Disney Company after this change.

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