The Heir Apparent to Disney CEO Bog Iger Steps Down Thomas Staggs will end his current role early next month, but will remain with the company through the fiscal year.

Brett Harriss, media analyst at Gabelli & Co, told CNBC on Tuesday it is possible the board wanted a candidate with more vision and a better ability to navigate content.

"I think they might be concerned that at the end of the day, he's a finance guy, right?" Harriss told CNBC's Squawk Box, referring to Staggs' 12-year tenure as Disney's chief financial officer. "Sure, he ran the parks, but that's very much an operating role."

Following his tenure as CFO, Staggs ran Disney's amusement parks division from 2010 until his promotion to COO in February 2015. That put him in the lead to succeed Iger.

The executive who had been seen as Stagg's chief rival for the top position, Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, announced last June that he would step down.

Staggs will retire as COO effective May 6 and will remain employed by Disney as a special advisor to Iger through the company's fiscal year, which goes through September. Staggs joined Disney in 1990 after working in investment banking at Morgan Stanley & Co.

CNBC's Julia Boorstin and Tom DiChristopher contributed.