Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said Thursday he is preparing to join a succession planning committee Disneythat will advise the board in choosing CEO Bob Iger's successor.
Gorman will step down as CEO of Morgan Stanley on January 1. He will join Disney's board of directors in February.
Disney announced last month that Gorman would join the company's board of directors. The announcement also included the appointment of former Sky TV boss Jeremy Darroch, who starts in January.
The move was seen by activist fund Trian and its leader, Nelson Peltz, as a way to stave off a proxy fight, although Trian expressed dissatisfaction with the appointments in a statement. Trian said it would push for Peltz and former Disney executive Jay Rasulo to join the board.
Gorman has received high praise for the way he managed the succession process at Morgan Stanley.
“Disney is forming a succession committee, which I will join,” Gorman told CNBC's David Faber. “I won't start as director until February, in the middle of a possible proxy fight, by the way. But I have a lot of experience with succession here on the board of Morgan Stanley.”
Disney said Gorman was referring to the succession committee the company announced in January. The company announced last month that Gorman would join the panel in a securities filing.
Disney reappointed Iger as CEO in November 2022, following the tumultuous tenure of his hand-picked successor Bob Chapek. Before ending his previous reign as CEO, Iger extended his contract several times. In July, the company extended Iger's contract until 2026.
The company has faced a number of headwinds in recent years, including box office flops and streaming losses. Earlier this year, Iger reorganized the company, laying off 7,000 employees and seeking to cut costs by $7.5 billion.