Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CEO James Gorman expects to have a hand in finding The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) successor to CEO Bob Iger.
Gorman, who plans to step down from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on January 1 and was tapped last month to join Disney’s board of directors in February, told CNBC Thursday that he is set to join a succession planning committee that will advise the board on choosing Iger’s replacement.
Iger is trying to turn Disney’s fortunes around following several movie disappointments in recent years as well as a broad restructuring that resulted in thousands of job cuts.
The addition of Gorman, which will follow former Sky TV CEO Jeremy Darroch joining the board in January, comes as Disney has faced a potential proxy fight from activist investor fund Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian Fund.
Trian has pushed for Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to join the entertainment titan’s board after “significant value destruction and missteps," that the board oversaw.
Gorman, for his part, has dealt with both executive succession planning and activist investors during his time at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
“We have had a lot of battles in my life,” Gorman said in an interview with CNBC “That doesn’t bother me one little bit.”
Disney shares rose 0.8% Thursday to $92.02.