Jonathan Garson To Succeed Jim Morris As Pixar President; Jonas Rivera Takes Expanded Creative Role

Pixar will start 2027 off with a major shake-up at the top of its leadership structure, with general manager Jonathan Garson tapped to succeed Jim Morris as president at the studio and veteran producer Jonas Rivera moving into an expanded role as executive vice president of creative.

The appointments will take full effect on January 4, 2027. Pete Docter will continue as chief creative officer, while Morris, who has been studio president since 2014, will become president emeritus as he prepares for eventual retirement.

In his new role, Garson will oversee Pixar’s production and operations, including producers, department heads, and post-production, working alongside Docter. Both Garson and Morris will report to Alan Bergman, chairman of Disney Entertainment, Studios. The new president explained in a release:

I still remember seeing Toy Story for the first time – never imagining I’d one day work at Pixar, let alone step into a leadership role such as this. Every day I walk in the door here, I’m reminded just how special this place is and how lucky I am to be a part of it. Jim has shown me what it looks like to safeguard this culture of quality, innovation, and creative ambition, and I’m extremely grateful to both him and Alan for their trust and support. It’s a humbling opportunity, and I look forward to working with Pete, Jonas, the production leadership team led by Katherine Sarafian and Lindsey Collins, and all of the extraordinary talent here at Pixar as we continue to push boundaries and lead our studio into the future.

Pixar’s incoming president has worked for parent company Disney for more than three decades and joined Pixar in 2010. Before becoming general manager, he helmed the studio’s marketing and franchise team.

“Jim has shown me what it looks like to safeguard this culture of quality, innovation, and creative ambition, and I’m extremely grateful to both him and Alan for their trust and support,” Garson said in the announcement.

Rivera’s appointment comes with a significant shift in responsibilities. When we covered his promotion to executive VP of film production in 2022, his remit was listed as operational oversight of film and streaming production, with Docter handling creative oversight. Now, Rivera will focus full time on the creative side alongside Docter.

Rivera said:

Ever since I walked through these doors as Pixar’s first production intern, this place, its people, and its stories have been my life’s work. I am deeply honored to step into this new role alongside Pete, partnering with him and Jonathan to support our incredible filmmakers and artists. Jim has been an extraordinary mentor and leader, and I intend to build on the lessons I learned from him as we look toward our next chapter.

His responsibilities will now include Pixar’s directors, creative VPs, and development, casting, and content advisement departments. Rivera and Docter will also serve as executive producers on every Pixar film.

Rivera joined Pixar in 1994 as its first production intern. His producing credits include Up, Inside Out, and Toy Story 4, the latter two earning him Oscars. He also executive produced Inside Out 2, the studio’s highest-grossing film ever at the global box office.

As he sheds some of his responsibilities at the studio, Morris will remain executive producer of Incredibles 3. His new role is said to include talent development and mentoring at Pixar and across Walt Disney Studios, along with technology initiatives that support artists and filmmakers.

In a release, the outgoing president reflected on his transformative time at the company:

Leading Pixar has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I’m honored to have been a steward of its legacy alongside extraordinary artists, storytellers, and technologists who keep redefining what animation can do and expanding the art of cinema. After 52 years in the business, and almost 40 at Lucasfilm and Pixar, I’ll be stepping back from the day-to-day, but I’m thrilled to move into handling a number of special projects, working alongside my friends Pete, Jonathan, and Jonas at Pixar, and of course Alan Bergman, who has been such a supporter of Pixar throughout the years.

Looking ahead, I can’t think of anyone better than Jonathan to carry the legacy of this beloved studio forward. He’s a Pixar person through and through, a fierce champion of our films, our people, and our culture. Pixar is in very good hands.

Before joining Pixar in 2005, Morris held senior positions at Industrial Light & Magic and Lucas Digital. His years as Pixar president encompassed both major commercial successes and a difficult period of restructuring as the studio’s parent company reassessed its streaming ambitions and theatrical business.

In May 2024, Pixar cut approximately 175 jobs, or 14% of its workforce, in the largest layoffs in its history. In a staff memo, Morris connected the reductions to Pixar’s retreat from Disney+ series production and renewed focus on features. This year, as Disney embarked on a massive, year-long series of cost-cutting measures, Pixar was hit by a similarly significant round of cuts as it prepared to embrace a “long and lean” production approach, explained to us by a longtime employee as a strategy that will limit future films to 16,500 person-weeks of labor, down from 18,500 to more than 20,000 on previous productions.

January’s upcoming succession plan now places production and operations under Garson while strengthening the creative leadership partnership between Docter and Rivera. Bergman characterized the changes as preparation for Morris’s eventual retirement, although no specific retirement date was announced.

Pixar’s upcoming slate includes the original features Gatto, scheduled for March 5, 2027, and Ghost Market, due March 10, 2028, followed by Incredibles 3 in June 2028.