Thomas Staggs, widely seen as the next chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), has quit the Mickey Mouse Company.
Staggs, the film and theme park company's chief operating officer, will leave the company next month.
Some observers believed that chief executive officer Bob Iger was grooming Staggs as his successor, but it is believed other members of the Disney board were not supportive of the idea, which may have prompted the parting of the ways.
Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, sites on Disney's board and speculation was rife in Hollywood that she would become the company's first female chief executive when Iger stands down in 2018.
Disney said Staggs's departure was by mutual consent.