Disney’s future is now in the hands of the Morgan Stanley CEO who brought the bank out of the Great Recession

James Gorman, chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, May 12, 2010. Two weeks after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy triggered a global credit crisis, Morgan Stanley countered concerns that it might be next to go by announcing it had "strong capital and liquidity positions." Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Disney is in the middle of a recession. At least, it would be if it was a nation, which it kind of is. Over the past four years, the home of Iron Man, Predator and Mickey Mouse—with 225,000 employees in entertainment parks and offices around the world—has lost more than $190 billion in market value. Its stock dropped from an all-time-high of $201 in March 2021 to $96 today, a decrease of 52 percent.

To stave off the bleeding, Disney is bringing on Morgan Stanley executive chairman James Gorman as chairman of the board, effective January 2025. His main role will be to fix Disney's enduring problem: hiring a new CEO.