Why Disney CEO Bob Iger is stepping down 9 months before his contract ends

• Longtime Disney CEO Bob Iger is stepping down early from his role, making room for his successor.
• Iger's decision to relinquish his role comes after he unretired and returned as CEO.
• Disney's board chairman said Iger's move gives the company "a completely clean start."

Bob Iger loves Disney even more than he loves being its CEO.

That was the message from Disney board chairman James Gorman on Tuesday, as the company announced that Josh D'Amaro would succeed Iger in the CEO slot.

Iger will step down on March 18, more than nine months before his contract expires, to make room for incoming CEO D'Amaro and soon-to-be president Dana Walden. After D'Amaro takes charge, Iger will remain a strategic advisor and board member through the end of the year.

Iger's decision to leave early may seem surprising, given his past efforts to hold onto or take back power. Gorman said on Tuesday that he believes Iger's call was very much in character for the man who made Disney into the media powerhouse it is today.

"Bob came to the point where he had developed the talent. And he said, 'This is for me to step aside now,'" Gorman said on CNBC on Tuesday morning.

"Yes, he could technically be CEO through the end of his contract," Gorman said of Iger. "That wasn't the aspiration. The aspiration was to get the company ready and to get the talent ready, not worrying about what the contract says."

Gorman said that Iger had two mandates when he returned to Disney in late 2022: improve the company's financial and strategic positioning while dealing with challenges, and develop talent and leadership to ensure at least another decade of growth.

Just over three years later, Iger has made the case that Disney is in much better shape than when he replaced former CEO Bob Chapek — even though Wall Street has been lukewarm about the stock. Disney shares have risen about 12% since Iger took over in late 2022, compared to a gain of over 70% for US stocks broadly.

Disney's parks are profit machines, its streaming business has gone from billion-dollar losses to the black, and top TV network ESPN has fully embraced streaming. Iger has also tried to lead Disney into the future by reaching a deal with OpenAI that could bring AI-generated video to Disney+, though it's unclear whether Disney's AI efforts will pay off.

Those accomplishments, along with the development of D'Amaro and Walden, are why Gorman said Iger was ready to step aside early.

"He just felt earlier in the year was better to do it," Gorman said of Iger. "He said, 'They're ready, why not?' And I thought it was incredibly selfless of him. And it was the right thing for Disney. And honestly, it's going to be the right thing for Josh, Dana, Alan [Bergman], Jimmy [Pitaro], and the rest of the team."

Iger's voluntary renunciation of the CEO position feels like a departure from the past, when he declined to step aside for potential successors, like former operating chief Tom Staggs, and then made a dramatic comeback to retake the helm from Chapek, the heir he had chosen.

"Bob was not interested in remaining as a chair or cochair," Gorman said on Bloomberg TV on Tuesday. "We needed a completely clean start here, which is what we are having. He will be there to support and mentor, and we have the right structure for the future."