Disney names new CEO; Eisner leaving earlier than planned
03-13-05, 08:02 PM
#1
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Disney names new CEO; Eisner leaving earlier than planned
Iger named next Disney boss
Controversial reign of Michael Eisner as CEO will end a year earlier than had been planned.
March 13, 2005: 6:06 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co.'s board on Sunday named company president Robert Iger to succeed Michael Eisner as chief executive of the film, television and theme park company, effective Sept. 30, 2005.
Eisner, who previously had indicated he would stay until his contract ended in Sept. 2006, said in a letter that he would retire as CEO in September and remain on the board until the 2006 annual meeting.
Eisner said he would not request that he be renominated to the board or seek the job as chairman when former Sen. George Mitchell retires.
Iger was the front runner in the race to replace Eisner, but the timing of the announcement was sooner than expected, since the company's board had set a June 2005 target to find a new chief.
The announcement also came days after Roy Disney and Stanley Gold, former directors of Walt Disney Co. said in a letter to directors that they were subverting the search for a new chief executive.
Gold and Disney had given the board qualified support in its aim to find a new CEO by June, but the pair, who helped spark a 2004 shareholder revolt that led to Eisner losing the title of chairman, returned to their critical stance.
The New York Times said on its online edition on Sunday Meg Whitman, eBay Inc.'s chief executive, was a potential candidate, but she informed Disney that she was not interested in replacing Eisner, the paper said.
Other candidates on the board's short list included Peter Chernin, the chief operating officer of News Corp., and Viacom Inc.'s co-presidents Tom Freston and Leslie Moonves, the Web site said.
Mitchell said in a statement that the board had compared internal and external candidates but did not say how many people had been interviewed for the job.
Eisner, 64, has been chief executive of Walt Disney since 1984. After strong growth through the 1980s and early 1990s, Eisner has endured recent criticism for overpaying for the Fox Family Channel.
Eisner had contentious business dealings with key partners that have helped Disney's recent results. Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the maker of "Toy Story" and "The Incredibles," is ending its partnership with Disney and looking for a new distributor for its films.
Eisner and Miramax Films co-chief executive Harvey Weinstein have feuded over pay and accounting for profitability at the Disney division responsible for Oscar-winning films such as "Chicago" and "Shakespeare in Love."
Iger, 54, has been president and chief operating officer of the company since January 2000. His career started at ABC in 1974 in New York as a studio supervisor and he joined Disney after the company acquired Capital Cities/ABC in 1996.
Controversial reign of Michael Eisner as CEO will end a year earlier than had been planned.
March 13, 2005: 6:06 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co.'s board on Sunday named company president Robert Iger to succeed Michael Eisner as chief executive of the film, television and theme park company, effective Sept. 30, 2005.
Eisner, who previously had indicated he would stay until his contract ended in Sept. 2006, said in a letter that he would retire as CEO in September and remain on the board until the 2006 annual meeting.
Eisner said he would not request that he be renominated to the board or seek the job as chairman when former Sen. George Mitchell retires.
Iger was the front runner in the race to replace Eisner, but the timing of the announcement was sooner than expected, since the company's board had set a June 2005 target to find a new chief.
The announcement also came days after Roy Disney and Stanley Gold, former directors of Walt Disney Co. said in a letter to directors that they were subverting the search for a new chief executive.
Gold and Disney had given the board qualified support in its aim to find a new CEO by June, but the pair, who helped spark a 2004 shareholder revolt that led to Eisner losing the title of chairman, returned to their critical stance.
The New York Times said on its online edition on Sunday Meg Whitman, eBay Inc.'s chief executive, was a potential candidate, but she informed Disney that she was not interested in replacing Eisner, the paper said.
Other candidates on the board's short list included Peter Chernin, the chief operating officer of News Corp., and Viacom Inc.'s co-presidents Tom Freston and Leslie Moonves, the Web site said.
Mitchell said in a statement that the board had compared internal and external candidates but did not say how many people had been interviewed for the job.
Eisner, 64, has been chief executive of Walt Disney since 1984. After strong growth through the 1980s and early 1990s, Eisner has endured recent criticism for overpaying for the Fox Family Channel.
Eisner had contentious business dealings with key partners that have helped Disney's recent results. Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the maker of "Toy Story" and "The Incredibles," is ending its partnership with Disney and looking for a new distributor for its films.
Eisner and Miramax Films co-chief executive Harvey Weinstein have feuded over pay and accounting for profitability at the Disney division responsible for Oscar-winning films such as "Chicago" and "Shakespeare in Love."
Iger, 54, has been president and chief operating officer of the company since January 2000. His career started at ABC in 1974 in New York as a studio supervisor and he joined Disney after the company acquired Capital Cities/ABC in 1996.
Last edited by Mr. Salty; 03-13-05 at 08:05 PM.
03-13-05, 08:09 PM
#2
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Eisner, 64, has been chief executive of Walt Disney since 1984. After strong growth through the 1980s and early 1990s, Eisner has endured recent criticism for overpaying for the Fox Family Channel.
03-13-05, 08:43 PM
#4
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Ding Dong the witch is dead!
03-13-05, 09:35 PM
#5
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by milo bloom
Ding Dong the witch is dead!
Lets just hope we get all those Eisner Intros for Wonderful world of Disney in the future...
Glad he's gone, now lets hope that the new guy isn't the same suit and tie...bring back the magic.
03-13-05, 11:13 PM
#7
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Originally Posted by Cameron
Glad he's gone, now lets hope that the new guy isn't the same suit and tie...bring back the magic.
Here's hopin'..
03-14-05, 08:25 AM
#9
DVD Talk Godfather
I think he is one of Eisner's right hand men.
Here is Roy & Stanley's view on the matter:
Roy Disney and Stanley Gold Statement on Disney's Board Naming Iger CEO
Sunday March 13, 4:19 pm ET
BURBANK, Calif., March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold today issued the following statement on the Disney Board's decision to name Robert Iger the Company's Chief Executive Officer:
"While it has taken three years to reach this point, our efforts to remove Michael Eisner as CEO of the Walt Disney Company have finally succeeded. Even the Disney Board, which has proven unresponsive to its shareholders, recognized that it had to take this action after our campaign which resulted in a resounding 45% No Confidence Vote on Michael Eisner last year.
"Unfortunately, our concerns regarding this Board's process to replace Mr. Eisner were well-founded. We find it incomprehensible that the Board of Directors of Disney failed to find a single external candidate interested in the job and thus handed Bob Iger the job by default. We find it very telling that Mr. Mitchell refused to answer repeated questions about whether the entire Board had interviewed more than one external candidate. The Board has failed in what is clearly one of their most important responsibilities, the selection of the Company's CEO.
"The need for the Walt Disney Company to have a clean break from the prior regime and to change the leadership culture has been glaringly obvious to everyone except this Board. The scathing portrait painted by James Stewart in DisneyWar has been widely reported without serious challenge or contradiction. A Board that is so deaf and insular cannot be entrusted to provide independent stewardship to this valuable, unique institution.
"The selection of Bob Iger is yet another example of this Board's breach of faith. The pledge made by Chairman Mitchell to conduct a bona fide search was a ruse to avoid a contest at the 2005 annual meeting. Mr. Mitchell's approach to good governance is no better than a carny at the fair, enticing words but in the end the game is rigged. Disney Shareholders have been conned and their trust in this Board abused.
"Shareholders should seriously consider replacing this Board and starting anew."
Here is Roy & Stanley's view on the matter:
Roy Disney and Stanley Gold Statement on Disney's Board Naming Iger CEO
Sunday March 13, 4:19 pm ET
BURBANK, Calif., March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold today issued the following statement on the Disney Board's decision to name Robert Iger the Company's Chief Executive Officer:
"While it has taken three years to reach this point, our efforts to remove Michael Eisner as CEO of the Walt Disney Company have finally succeeded. Even the Disney Board, which has proven unresponsive to its shareholders, recognized that it had to take this action after our campaign which resulted in a resounding 45% No Confidence Vote on Michael Eisner last year.
"Unfortunately, our concerns regarding this Board's process to replace Mr. Eisner were well-founded. We find it incomprehensible that the Board of Directors of Disney failed to find a single external candidate interested in the job and thus handed Bob Iger the job by default. We find it very telling that Mr. Mitchell refused to answer repeated questions about whether the entire Board had interviewed more than one external candidate. The Board has failed in what is clearly one of their most important responsibilities, the selection of the Company's CEO.
"The need for the Walt Disney Company to have a clean break from the prior regime and to change the leadership culture has been glaringly obvious to everyone except this Board. The scathing portrait painted by James Stewart in DisneyWar has been widely reported without serious challenge or contradiction. A Board that is so deaf and insular cannot be entrusted to provide independent stewardship to this valuable, unique institution.
"The selection of Bob Iger is yet another example of this Board's breach of faith. The pledge made by Chairman Mitchell to conduct a bona fide search was a ruse to avoid a contest at the 2005 annual meeting. Mr. Mitchell's approach to good governance is no better than a carny at the fair, enticing words but in the end the game is rigged. Disney Shareholders have been conned and their trust in this Board abused.
"Shareholders should seriously consider replacing this Board and starting anew."
03-14-05, 09:17 PM
#15
DVD Talk Godfather
I read that Igor got the "rubber stamp" seal of approval from Eisner. The one thing he could do to seperate himself from the devil... er Eisner is strike a deal with Steve Jobs and can all the sequels. That would put him on good terms with a LOT of people.
Just read this on CNN
So not only will the Toy Story franchise go in the crapper, Eisner plans to drag them all down. I think his whole goal is to "sulley" the Pixar name by the time they go solo.
Just read this on CNN
The company, which owns the rights to the Pixar library, has announced plans for a "Toy Story 3" and plans to roll out sequels to "Finding Nemo," "Monsters," "The Incredibles" as well as "Cars."
So not only will the Toy Story franchise go in the crapper, Eisner plans to drag them all down. I think his whole goal is to "sulley" the Pixar name by the time they go solo.
03-14-05, 09:27 PM
#16
DVD Talk Legend
Looking bad...
I need to read Disney War...it keeps staring at me...
it would also help if they would take the lid off the vault and give us some of the big wants...not just SOTS, but uncut classics with the cigars back in place, and the full frames in fantasia....
and they should bring back some of the old timers like Dick Van Dyke and Don Knotts for one last hurrah...
I need to read Disney War...it keeps staring at me...
it would also help if they would take the lid off the vault and give us some of the big wants...not just SOTS, but uncut classics with the cigars back in place, and the full frames in fantasia....
and they should bring back some of the old timers like Dick Van Dyke and Don Knotts for one last hurrah...
03-15-05, 10:08 AM
#17
I personally think that Robert Iger may actually be good for Disney.
For one thing, Iger may be more than willing to undo the excesses of Michael Eisner, and in an effort to restore the credibility of the Walt Disney company may entertain (pun intended) the idea of reviving its traditional animation division with more "hands off" policy and to renew its contract with Pixar where Pixar will get 75-80% of the profits for Pixar films released through Disney. Iger should know why Lilo & Stitch (and to a slightly lesser extent) Brother Bear were successes: they were done far away from the meddling of Eisner himself. In short, Iger should encourage successful efforts within the company, not override every manager like Eisner tried to do.
For one thing, Iger may be more than willing to undo the excesses of Michael Eisner, and in an effort to restore the credibility of the Walt Disney company may entertain (pun intended) the idea of reviving its traditional animation division with more "hands off" policy and to renew its contract with Pixar where Pixar will get 75-80% of the profits for Pixar films released through Disney. Iger should know why Lilo & Stitch (and to a slightly lesser extent) Brother Bear were successes: they were done far away from the meddling of Eisner himself. In short, Iger should encourage successful efforts within the company, not override every manager like Eisner tried to do.
03-15-05, 01:36 PM
#18
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Originally Posted by RayChuang
Iger should know why Lilo & Stitch (and to a slightly lesser extent) Brother Bear were successes: they were done far away from the meddling of Eisner himself. In short, Iger should encourage successful efforts within the company, not override every manager like Eisner tried to do.
