NBA's Adam Silver On Short List To Replace Bob Iger

The search to replace Disney CEO Bob Iger has officially started with a short list that includes some usual suspects and one out-of-the box candidate from the world of sports, FOX Business has learned.

Adam Silver, Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, is a top candidate to replace Iger as chief executive officer, when he is set to retire in two years, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. 

Other top candidates on the list include Dana Walden, Disney’s entertainment co-chair and Kevin Mayer, a former Disney executive, CEO of short-video app TikTok and now, founder and CEO of Candle Media.

Adam Silver

Iger, 72, is widely regarded as among the most successful media executives in the business, overseeing a string of hit programming and generating record profits for investors, while expanding Disney’s theme park footprint globally. 

After a 24-year stint at the House of Mouse, he retired in 2021 only to return a second time as CEO following the exit of Bob Chapek.

Chapek, also a long-time Disney executive, was ousted late last year amid mounting business challenges particularly in the company's streaming strategy and an ugly political battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the state's sex-education law. 

Silver, while seemingly an unlikely candidate to run the biggest media company in the world, has a long-standing relationship with both Iger and Disney. 

Silver’s job as head of the NBA means he does a lot of work with ESPN, Disney’s flagship cable sports network. Before becoming commissioner, Silver spent eight years as president and chief operating officer of NBA Entertainment.

A Disney spokesman declined to comment but would not deny the existence of a shortlist to replace Iger. Through the spokesman, Walden declined to comment. A spokesman for the NBA declined comment. A spokesman for Mayer didn't return calls for comment.