Disney slides executive shakeup past fans | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

The seismic shocks of the Warner Bros. reversal continue to reverberate after Paramount (PSKY) took the driver’s seat to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), prompting a downgrade of Paramount stock by Fitch Ratings, as the Wall Street Journal reported.

Now, The Walt Disney Company (DIS) is slyly shaking up its executive structure to coincide with its CEO change, according to Variety.

Kristina Schake, veteran chief communications officer, will leave the company on Mar. 18, just as the next CEO Josh D’Amaro is set to take over for current CEO Bob Iger, per Disney’s latest official release.

This new direction for the Walt Disney Company should have Disney fans preparing for a period of change. Or, rather, it would if they knew all this was going on.

Disney — being the pros they are — are masking the turbulence with news like Robert Downey Jr. announced as godfather to a cruise ship, a Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special (no shade to Hannah/Miley; I respect the hustle), and… some flexing about ESPN’s latest numbers.

OK, that last one is actual news, considering Disney’s looming NFL deal, reported by Variety, but the rest stand. It’s classic PR, with Disney purposely filling your timelines with content while the brand undergoes a massive course correction.

For the cherry on top, there’s an argument that Disney timed this changeover to use the biggest acquisition drama in recent Hollywood history (Netflix versus Paramount for the fate of Warner Bros.) as an opportunity for further cover.

Here’s the skinny on what’s next for the changeover, the Paramount/Netflix tug-of-war, and Disney’s new D’Amaro regime strategy as it all goes down.

Disney loses experienced executive Kristina Schake

The departure of Kristina Schake isn’t just the departure of one executive, albeit a valuable one. It’s a portent that Disney’s executive old guard may be hitting the exits along with Bob Iger.

See, Disney, and Bob Iger himself, have long said that Iger would step down eventually. That time has (finally?) come, but Schake’s coinciding departure indicates a more comprehensive shift in approach. The question is, could some Iger-era Disney brass possibly not be on board with the new “D’Amaro way”?

Take a look at the statements from the announcement of Schake’s departure, comparing what Iger said on behalf of Disney to what Schake offered.

“Kristina is an accomplished and respected communications leader,” Bob Iger said in Disney’s farewell announcement. “Disney has been fortunate to have her expertise and insight during a dynamic period that has demanded strategic clarity and judgment.”

Standard departure-speak, save for that last note on “dynamic period,” which I read as a slight nod from Iger that Schake knew change might be coming eventually (and possibly that they had an understanding that it would be her choice what to do when it did).

Compare that to the brief words we got from Schake.

“I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to serve The Walt Disney Company during such a pivotal chapter in its history. The company I joined in 2022 was in a vastly different place from where it is today, both reputationally and from a business perspective, and I am proud of the work our worldwide communications team has done to support Bob as he has put Disney on a steady course for growth for the next generation of leaders,” Chief Communications Officer Kristina Schake said in her official exit statement from Disney.

My translation of the subtext there? Schake thought 2026’s Disney was a vastly different place from the one she was hired to, and that difference would only grow once Josh D’Amaro took over as CEO, sparking her departure. Speaking of…

D’Amaro’s changes for Disney

The trades boiled D’Amaro’s biggest pushes for Disney down to three words: gaming, artificial intelligence (AI), and “interactivity,” the Hollywood Reporter noted.

I thought those were quite nebulous, so in my recent coverage, I broke his planned changes into three more concrete categories: growth initiatives, business practice changes, and Parks changes (Parks being of particular importance because D’Amaro was head of Disney’s Experiences Unit, encompassing Parks, Cruises, and Merchandise).

Here’s how D’Amaro’s master plan (S)hakes out .

Disney 2026 growth initiatives

AI: Disney & Sora’s $1 billion deal, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Interactivity: Personalized merchandise push for streaming via Disney+.
Gaming: Disney & Fortnite creator Epic Games have partnered to create an Expansive and Open Games and Entertainment Universe, per Disney’s recent official press release.
Box-office dominance: Disney’s blockbuster slate in 2026 is mission critical.

The banner headlines: your typical AI growth promise, increased merch, and gaming tie-ins, and a year at the box office so crucial that hyperbole is impossible.

Disney’s 2026 business practice changes

Cost-cutting: Dynamic ticket pricing coming to U.S. Parks
Intellectual Property (IP) sales: Possibly Avatar, Variety noted

These two changes might sneakily be the most important, shifting the essence of Disney’s business approach. The first aims to match practices that served D’Amaro as Parks chief, and the second ushers in a new era of how Disney handles its smaller (or shrinking) intellectual properties.

Disney U.S. Parks changes in 2026

Bluey is coming to U.S. parks via a landmark deal with BBC Studios and creator Ludo Studio.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland (California) is getting a revamp.
Villains Land, an upcoming park concept, is being scrapped in favor of a more comprehensive vision, Inside the Magic reports.

The most splashy changes, indicative of D’Amaro’s go-to practice of relying on popular Parks innovations to buoy the rest of Disney in times of “transition” (cough — like right now — cough).

More Disney:

It’s a sensible approach, very in character for D’Amaro, to keep the ship steady as he settles into his tenure. He needs stability, especially considering the pressure that Iger has put on box office success in 2026 (a new “Spider Man” arrives this summer, and the “Avengers” franchise relaunches during the holidays).

Whether it’s the Paramount-Warner-Netflix death match, the Iger and Schake departures, or the innovation and feel-good smokescreens (again, looking at you, RDJ park dedication), D’Amaro is grateful for any and all cover as he shepherds Disney through its change in course.

Wise fans and investors will be paying attention to the changes more impactful to the bottom line. Even wiser fans will recognize that a business practices rehaul was inevitable.

The Iger era, for all its strengths and faults, couldn’t last forever. Nothing can, except for the endless loop of “It’s a small world after all.”