Iger Succeeding Eisner As Disney's CEO

[CujoSR]

From: Yahoo! NewsBy GARY GENTILE, AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES - The Walt Disney Co. said Sunday its president, Robert Iger, will succeed Michael Eisner as chief executive and that Eisner will leave his post one year earlier than previously announced.

The company said Iger was unanimously elected by the board at a meeting Saturday and will take charge Oct. 1, which is the start of Disney's 2006 fiscal year. Eisner will step down the day before, although he will remain on the board for another year. Disney will pay him through Sept. 30, 2006, when his contract expires.

Eisner will end his tenure at the company after serving 21 years. Iger will become only the sixth leader of Disney in its history.

The announcement came under immediate fire from two prominent shareholders who questioned the integrity of the process, noting Iger's insider status and close ties to Eisner.

But Disney board chairman George Mitchell said Iger's choice came after a "lengthy, thorough and professional selection process" that included serious consideration of outside candidates. He declined to be more specific, but an EBay Inc. spokesman confirmed Sunday that eBay CEO Meg Whitman had withdrawn her application for the job Friday after being interviewed.

"We believe Bob Iger represents the right blend of continuity, of very successful performance, particularly over the past two years in which Bob had played a major role... and a recognition of needed change" in the areas of new technology and expanding the company's business in Asia, Mitchell said during a conference call with reporters.

"This is not a huge surprise," said Paul Kim, an analyst for New York-based Traditional Asiel Securities. He said Disney has done a good job of cutting costs and increasing profits over the past 18 months, and Iger's challenge will be to continue that momentum.

During Sunday's conference call, Mitchell strongly denied charges made by former board members Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold that Eisner inappropriately participated in candidate interviews. The two also alleged that some external candidates declined to be interviewed because of Eisner's role.

"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," the two men said in a statement. "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."

Mitchell said Eisner was never present during any interviews with Iger and attended only part of one meeting with an unidentified candidate.

"That was the full extent of his interaction with any candidates, internal or external," Mitchell said Sunday. "The allegation is false and irresponsible."

Iger, himself a board member, did not participate in any succession planning meetings, Mitchell said.

Mitchell also said drastic changes in the company are not needed.

"If you are a major investor and the company has produced a 60 percent increase in earnings, has just increased its dividend 14 percent, has record cash flow and a substantial increase in return of invested capital, you don't encourage major change," Mitchell said.

Iger, 54, who also serves as chief operating officer, was considered a front-runner for the post from the start.

He was president of Capital Cities/ABC when Disney bought the company in 1995, and went on to become president of the ABC Group and head of Walt Disney International. He was named president in 2000.

He has kept a relatively low profile at the company, although he has been more vocal about his vision for Disney since last September, when Eisner announced plans to depart.

Iger is credited with reversing the fortunes of Disney's ABC television network, which had slid to fourth in the ratings. The network is poised to turn a profit this year and is improving in the ratings thanks to hits such as "Desperate Housewives."

He also played a behind-the-scenes role in smoothing out the contentious relationship between Eisner and Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein. On Sunday, Weinstein praised Iger's selection, although Disney and the Weinsteins are still expected to sever ties later this month.

"I've had a great working relationship with Bob Iger and think he's a terrific choice," Weinstein said.

The selection of Iger follows several rocky years for the company, and especially for Eisner, who was removed as board chairman last year after shareholders withheld 45 percent of their votes for his re-election to the board.

Since then, the company's fortunes have improved, although a recent trial over a multi-million-dollar severance paid to another former Disney president, Michael Ovitz, and an unflattering book about Eisner's long reign, have left his legacy in doubt.

In a letter to the board Sunday, Eisner praised the decision and said he will not ask to be nominated for another term on the board when his current term expires next year. Eisner also said he will not seek the board chairmanship after Mitchell retires.

Mitchell, who will turn the board's mandatory retirement age of 72 next year, has said he will not stand for re-election at the 2006 annual meeting.

Disney's board first split the roles last year after shareholders delivered a stinging vote of no confidence in Eisner, who then held both titles.

[Dack48]

Same Eisner, more hair

[CBeilby]

Agreed. Ladies and Gentlemen, come the shareholder's meeting next year, you can bet that there's going to be a proxy fight and a new slate of directors from Shamrock Holdings. If you don't want to see a continuation of the Eisner years, then get some stock. We have to put up with this for another eleven months, but NO LONGER than that. If everyone who wants to see Eisner and Iger out on their behinds gets, say, five shares of voting stock, and then instructs the proxys to vote for Shamrock's slate of directors next year, we can see this happen. Remember, we, as past, present, and future cast members CAN make a difference.

[Zazu]

Disney’s Board of Directors announced Sunday that they have rubber-stamped Eisner’s pick for CEO, Bob Iger, after a lazy winter "search" for outside candidates. The good news is that Eisner will leave office a year early, in fall of 2005, and will not seek to remain on Disney’s Board or to become Chairman.

-- SaveDisney news release

[Chabobo]

Disney’s Board of Directors announced Sunday that they have rubber-stamped Eisner’s pick for CEO, Bob Iger, after a lazy winter "search" for outside candidates. The good news is that Eisner will leave office a year early, in fall of 2005, and will not seek to remain on Disney’s Board or to become Chairman.

So Zazu who is Iger and why dont you care for him?? Is he gonna do much to change anything do ya think??

[MEng85]

seems to be like changing presidents on alcatraz...nothin really changes...but life continues as if nothing really happened....

[DisneylandIs101]

...who is Iger and why dont you care for him??

I can't speak for Zazu, but let me answer that by telling a story.

Last year Matt Ouimet took over as president of the Disneyland Resort. He came from the Disney Cruise Line, where he had done some great things, and I had high hopes for him.

Matt really looks at things from the Guest point of view. I don't agree with all of his ideas (at one point he took away the Guest Control CM's umbrella at Fantasyland Theater on a Code 90 day for show reasons...I would have rather had a shaded CM), but his heart's in the right place.

Matt went so far as to call Bob Iger, then Disney President and COO (Chief Operating Officer), and request that they walk the resort together. As the story I was told goes (after all, when you work for Disney you get most of your information third-hand), Matt walked both parks with Bob, pointing out the changes he would like to make, even taking Bob to Superstar Limo and telling him that it had been closed for two years because it was so bad that there were more complaints about attraction quality when it was open than complaints about a closed attraction when it was on "indefinite rehab."

You can see how well that meeting went -- still many problems that Matt Ouimet, pure as his intentions are, will not be able to fix when he has to answer to people who don't see the value of maintaining the parks and will not authorize the cost. Iger has been part of the problem (since 2000, I believe). He's an Eisner lap-dog. Iger is a selection that promises more of the same. The only things we can hope for is that (a) the board will grow a pair after Eisner is gone and fix the company or (b) Shamrock will put up an alternate slate at the next shareholder's meeting (look for this to be held in Iraq or Syria to keep stockholders from actually being able to attend), enabling shareholders to regain control of their company.

I certainly don't regret not staying with Disney until Eisner was gone now that I've found out that Iger is the replacement. The one silver lining is that this has us rid of Mike a year earlier than we could have been stuck with him, even if it is sort of only "on paper."

[Zazu]

So Zazu who is Iger and why dont you care for him?? Is he gonna do much to change anything do ya think??

Note please that my original post was merely a quote from the SaveDisney web site, and was posted here primarily because of the wonderful headline -- wonderful no matter how one feels about Bob Iger.

Frankly, I don't know enough about Bob to judge him yet. I worry that he, or anyone, could last so long under Eisner without sharing a brain cell or two, but maybe he's just been waiting his turn.

I'm going to give Bob the benefit of the doubt and a chance to prove himself. It'll take a while though. Michael is still in official charge until October, he'll be hanging over Bob's shoulder until he's off the board, and it won't be until FY2006 or possibly FY2007 that we'll get to see what his budgets are like.

Until then, I'm not selling off my stock ... but I'm not buying any either.

[gurgi]

as a guest and obviously not a cm, i would jsut like to say a few things. Eisner has totally ruined the parks. disneyland with the whole harriss and whatever pair throwing cash into shows instead of rides. wdw getting copy cat rides instead of soemthing new. not to mention taking out 20k for another damn meet and greet. things are out of control. every park should be its own version of its self. enough copy catting rides, you can only do this so long to make that bottom line look good before there is no where else to go because you nickle and dime the places to death. bring back the bread and butter of disney. GOOD animation not accountamation. i miss hand drawns, and im sick of looking and hearing so much digital. i like the media but some of the old stuff would be awesome too. we all know hand drawns would work if they were done right. hell we also all know pixar is making a killing using the disney formula, why cant people get their shit straight? i love pixar but freaking suits cant even see whats going on when they are distributeing it (or were.). things worked so well before eisner, and even for a short time with eisner and wells. but for the love of god, i cant speak for walt because he was someone you could never nail down. but for me, i cant even stand the thought of what is happening to the place. freaking tokyo is using the walt formula for parks and imagine that its killing the other parks in style and everything. we need a new board, and we need a new ceo, not some monkey that even eisner has said couldnt run the show. ok so im a emotional about this, but disney isnt just a name to me, i grew up in that place like a lot of others and its a huge part of my childhood, we used to drive two hous once or twice a year to go there. my family even bought a time share, while we still lived in florida, so we wouldnt have to drive back and forth. the place is magic and there is still some left, if only someone with vision and understanding took over instead of that moron. i wouldnt even be upset if steve jobs or someone like him to the helm, at least he has some vision and isnt a moron. im so angry and frustrated, i want to jsut reach in there and slap the board in the face one by one, id love to get one shot at eisner oversized chin, and iger, id like to drag him and mikey behind my car across some gravel and salt. the board is more and more disappointing every year. i hope that disney and gold stand up and fight instead of doing the sit and wait like they have been. haha bloody hell.
ok sorry i had to rant. i will now go back to reading silently in the background.
screw eisener by the way.

[lady ulrike]

(at one point he took away the Guest Control CM's umbrella at Fantasyland Theater on a Code 90 day for show reasons...I would have rather had a shaded CM)

Actually, this was Fantasyland Management, and it wasn't taken away for show reasons, but because most, if not all, of the CM's were standing under it and talking. Now I was one of the CM's working there at the time and yes I did sometimes stand under there talking but I was far from the worst. I didn't like that the umbrella was gone, but I can understand, especially since we were told about a bazillion times to stop grouping. Everyone kept doing it cause it was hot and there's very little shade in that area. Part of it was cause everyone was thinking of themselves and wanted to be under the shade when we very easily could've rotated and therefore all benefitted from the umbrella.

Sorry, just wanted to clear up that it wasn't Matt who did that. Although he might've been the first one to see the grouping and complained about it to management, that I don't know.