By Peter Henderson
LOS ANGELES, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) dissident shareholders Roy Disney and Stanley Gold on Monday said CEO Michael Eisner, who last week said he would step down in two years, should be forced to leave by early next year.
Gold and Disney, who late last year spearheaded a move to oust Eisner, said they would run their own slate of directors at next year's annual meeting if the board did not engage an independent search firm and commit to Eisner stepping down as CEO and as a director when the search ended.
"The focus is no longer Michael Eisner. It is the board and whether the board will do its job," Gold said in an interview. Chairman George Mitchell has steadfastly said the company is studying succession without giving many details of the work.
Roy Disney, a nephew of the company's founder, and Gold sent their open letter to the company's nine non-employee directors a week before the board's Sept. 20 meeting.
They called for Eisner, stripped of his role as chairman in March after 45 percent of shares were cast against his re-election to the board, to step down as chief executive by the annual meeting early next year.
Gold said he hoped for a response from the board after the meeting and would decide by mid-November whether to field a slate of board candidates that could number five or six directors or more. He declined to say whether he or Roy Disney would want to return to the board, which they left last year.
Eisner, 62, on Friday said he would step down as chief executive when his contract ends in September 2006, but he has not commented on whether he would keep his board seat or consider again becoming chairman.
'NEGATIVE ENERGY' IN THE BOARDROOM
The news was greeted positively by many on Wall Street, and although some said the transition was too long, a number of investors and analysts said critics would have a tougher time re-energizing a campaign to oust him sooner.
Gold and Disney said a two-year transition period would be "catastrophic" for the company and that major candidates would not want the job if Eisner were to become chairman.
"I think Mr. Disney and Mr. Gold have it right in their letter. It is time for the board to show they are not beholden to Mr. Eisner," said North Carolina Treasurer Richard Moore, one of the activist state leaders who catalyzed the revolt.
However, he was cautious about supporting Disney and Gold if they were to run for the board, saying, "They could bring the same negative energy into the boardroom."
Disney Chairman Mitchell also is about two years away from the board's mandatory retirement age of 72.
UCLA Anderson School of Business professor Samuel Culbert said the board would do well to keep the posts of CEO and chairman separate and not give the chair to Eisner.
Moreover, the board should find a successor, put the new person in place and let Eisner out of his deal. "Buy out his contract and let's get on with something new," he said.
Eisner, appointed to the helm of Disney in September 1984 after Gold and Disney helped recruit him, has become the target of intense criticism over recent months as its ABC television network has lagged in the ratings and its share price has sagged, along with those of other media companies.
Shares are down only a penny for 2004, however, after rising 16 cents to close at $23.32 on the New York Stock Exchange.
LOS ANGELES, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) dissident shareholders Roy Disney and Stanley Gold on Monday said CEO Michael Eisner, who last week said he would step down in two years, should be forced to leave by early next year.
Gold and Disney, who late last year spearheaded a move to oust Eisner, said they would run their own slate of directors at next year's annual meeting if the board did not engage an independent search firm and commit to Eisner stepping down as CEO and as a director when the search ended.
"The focus is no longer Michael Eisner. It is the board and whether the board will do its job," Gold said in an interview. Chairman George Mitchell has steadfastly said the company is studying succession without giving many details of the work.
Roy Disney, a nephew of the company's founder, and Gold sent their open letter to the company's nine non-employee directors a week before the board's Sept. 20 meeting.
They called for Eisner, stripped of his role as chairman in March after 45 percent of shares were cast against his re-election to the board, to step down as chief executive by the annual meeting early next year.
Gold said he hoped for a response from the board after the meeting and would decide by mid-November whether to field a slate of board candidates that could number five or six directors or more. He declined to say whether he or Roy Disney would want to return to the board, which they left last year.
Eisner, 62, on Friday said he would step down as chief executive when his contract ends in September 2006, but he has not commented on whether he would keep his board seat or consider again becoming chairman.
'NEGATIVE ENERGY' IN THE BOARDROOM
The news was greeted positively by many on Wall Street, and although some said the transition was too long, a number of investors and analysts said critics would have a tougher time re-energizing a campaign to oust him sooner.
Gold and Disney said a two-year transition period would be "catastrophic" for the company and that major candidates would not want the job if Eisner were to become chairman.
"I think Mr. Disney and Mr. Gold have it right in their letter. It is time for the board to show they are not beholden to Mr. Eisner," said North Carolina Treasurer Richard Moore, one of the activist state leaders who catalyzed the revolt.
However, he was cautious about supporting Disney and Gold if they were to run for the board, saying, "They could bring the same negative energy into the boardroom."
Disney Chairman Mitchell also is about two years away from the board's mandatory retirement age of 72.
UCLA Anderson School of Business professor Samuel Culbert said the board would do well to keep the posts of CEO and chairman separate and not give the chair to Eisner.
Moreover, the board should find a successor, put the new person in place and let Eisner out of his deal. "Buy out his contract and let's get on with something new," he said.
Eisner, appointed to the helm of Disney in September 1984 after Gold and Disney helped recruit him, has become the target of intense criticism over recent months as its ABC television network has lagged in the ratings and its share price has sagged, along with those of other media companies.
Shares are down only a penny for 2004, however, after rising 16 cents to close at $23.32 on the New York Stock Exchange.
