A Good Read ...

[Did Knee]

You can't do it with the personality of Vanilla when you need Chunky Monkey.

Donald Trump?? :ROFLOL: sorry...couldn't resist...please continue the previously scheduled serious conversation...:lookaroun

 

[RSoxNo1]

I seriously hope they go outside the company as well unless it's Lasseter, but I think we all know that ain't gonna happen. Any BIG personalities that would be a good fit for the company and that would be fully invested?

Isn't Michael Eisner the biggest single shareholder right now? What's he doing?

 

[Lee]

Isn't Michael Eisner the biggest single shareholder right now? What's he doing?

Just chillin'....

 

[WDW1974]

Isn't Michael Eisner the biggest single shareholder right now? What's he doing?

To put it in perspective, Charlie Sheen will be back on Two and a Half Men first and WDW will cut food prices in half all before that ever happens ...

Unless something shocking happens, Tom Staggs will be running TWDC by sometime in 2014 (not 2016).

~Will GG do the steakhouse? ... Let's give it time.~

 

[HenryMystic]

Unless something shocking happens, Tom Staggs will be running TWDC by sometime in 2014 (not 2016).

Must feel nice to be the anointed one and the reward$ that come with that designation.

 

[WDW1974]

Must feel nice to be the anointed one and the reward$ that come with that designation.

I don't know ... I've never been ... but I have been special and good or bad, I've come to realize there is something well ... special about being treated that way ... because insignificant people don't tend to be treated special.

That said, I want to run TWDC ... or at least WDW Co ... and I am quite sure I am more than capable.

Will it happen? Well, America is getting dumber by the day, so I'd say just about anything is possible.

~Team Spirit~

 

[SeaCastle]

Not like they have had that many since 1966...

In 1984 hired an outsider and embarked on a period of huge growth.

Hopefully they can capture lightning again. Or the accountant turns out to be sharper then expected.

The year is 2012, not 1984 (unless one is speaking in Orwellian terms...in which case we are getting close to 1984!). The WDC is not doing too shabby right now, and manages to eke out sizable profits. The 80's were a different time in which the company was fighting for its survival and needed a fearless leader such as Michael who turned the company into a (not so) lean, green, profit-churning machine. Today's WDC needs a leader who can maintain the status quo and position the company for long term growth, which is why promoting from within is favored. That is Wall Street's and corporate's take on it.

 

[De-Nile]

Just chillin'....

Long time lurker, big fan of all our great insiders here.

Just had a question on this statistic. A few years ago, it was widely known who held the most shares. I believe it was Jobs at 7.5%, then Eisner at 1.7% and finally Roy E. at 1%. I haven't been able to find any data recently on who the major players are nowadays, but if Eisner is number one and he doesn't want to be involved, then who holds the next highest amount of shares? Is it Iger? If so, that would give him even more influence in terms of how the business is run, which for us is a bad thing.

 

[Lee]

Long time lurker, big fan of all our great insiders here.

Just had a question on this statistic. A few years ago, it was widely known who held the most shares. I believe it was Jobs at 7.5%, then Eisner at 1.7% and finally Roy E. at 1%. I haven't been able to find any data recently on who the major players are nowadays, but if Eisner is number one and he doesn't want to be involved, then who holds the next highest amount of shares? Is it Iger? If so, that would give him even more influence in terms of how the business is run, which for us is a bad thing.

The Steve Jobs Trust is by far the biggest shareholder, with over a hundred million shares.
Eisner is a distant second, With over 14million shares.
Roy Disney sold off a lot of his stock years ago, and His estate now controls 8-10 million shares.
Poor Iger has less than 2 million shares.


~An agent of SPIRITED change?~

 

[WDW1974]

The Steve Jobs Trust is by far the biggest shareholder, with over a hundred million shares.
Eisner is a distant second, With over 14million shares.
Roy Disney sold off a lot of his stock years ago, and His estate now controls 8-10 million shares.
Poor Iger has less than 2 million shares.


~An agent of SPIRITED change?~

Yep.

Thing is, those things can change in a hurry with the right person depending upon who has their hands on the rudder. Thing is, no one at TWDC does now because years ago they sold it for scrap!

~Change is coming. BIG, SPIRITED change!~

 

[NoChesterHester]

The Steve Jobs Trust is by far the biggest shareholder, with over a hundred million shares.
Eisner is a distant second, With over 14million shares.
Roy Disney sold off a lot of his stock years ago, and His estate now controls 8-10 million shares.
Poor Iger has less than 2 million shares.


~An agent of SPIRITED change?~

So less expensive to buy out Iger then Eisner? Should we read into this?

 

[Kiff]

The Steve Jobs Trust is by far the biggest shareholder, with over a hundred million shares.
Eisner is a distant second, With over 14million shares.
Roy Disney sold off a lot of his stock years ago, and His estate now controls 8-10 million shares.
Poor Iger has less than 2 million shares.


~An agent of SPIRITED change?~

When Steve took control of so much Disney stock I always hoped he would pull his attention away from Apple if only for a brief while. Maybe use his pull to breath some life into TWDC. Not necessarily a creative heir to Walt, but more of a front man for the company to sell the public (and shareholders) on grand new ideas for the parks. Having someone like Steve Jobs behind a product or idea can make shareholders a little more open to risk and take their eye off quarterly gains. Iger just doesn't seem to cut it.

 

[De-Nile]

The Steve Jobs Trust is by far the biggest shareholder, with over a hundred million shares.
Eisner is a distant second, With over 14million shares.
Roy Disney sold off a lot of his stock years ago, and His estate now controls 8-10 million shares.
Poor Iger has less than 2 million shares.


~An agent of SPIRITED change?~

Wow, those are some incredible numbers. As Spirit mentioned, it's a shame none of the major stockholders are big influences in how the company is run creatively. The interesting figure about Iger is that he owns half as much stock in Apple, of which he is a board member, as he does in Disney. Wouldn't one think if they were in charge of a huge company they would want to own a big chunk (like Eisner) to at least pretend that they are personally invested in it?

I suppose the thing to take away from all this is that there really aren't many big players who are on the side of creativity and quality versus the bottom line.

 

[WDW1974]

Wow, those are some incredible numbers. As Spirit mentioned, it's a shame none of the major stockholders are big influences in how the company is run creatively. The interesting figure about Iger is that he owns half as much stock in Apple, of which he is a board member, as he does in Disney. Wouldn't one think if they were in charge of a huge company they would want to own a big chunk (like Eisner) to at least pretend that they are personally invested in it?

I suppose the thing to take away from all this is that there really aren't many big players who are on the side of creativity and quality versus the bottom line.

That IS definitely one thing to take away from it, yes!

~Change is coming. BIG, SPIRITED change!~

 

[De-Nile]

When Steve took control of so much Disney stock I always hoped he would pull his attention away from Apple if only for a brief while. Maybe use his pull to breath some life into TWDC. Not necessarily a creative heir to Walt, but more of a front man for the company to sell the public (and shareholders) on grand new ideas for the parks. Having someone like Steve Jobs behind a product or idea can make shareholders a little more open to risk and take their eye off quarterly gains. Iger just doesn't seem to cut it.

I felt the same way. I mean, when they bought out Pixar, all the big execs were used in some capacity, like John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, but Steve never really was that involved with Disney. I read the biography on Jobs that came out recently, and although I'm not one to deify Jobs, he had a lot on his plate in his final years. But what surprised me the most was that he actually was more invested in Disney financially and yet he sort of let them trudge forward without a defining creative vision. I think that is something that someone who wielded a lot of influence like Steve could have fixed had he been involved a bit more. As it stands, Disney is becoming more and more of the antithesis of Jobs and Apple.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I felt the same way. I mean, when they bought out Pixar, all the big execs were used in some capacity, like John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, but Steve never really was that involved with Disney. I read the biography on Jobs that came out recently, and although I'm not one to deify Jobs, he had a lot on his plate in his final years. But what surprised me the most was that he actually was more invested in Disney financially and yet he sort of let them trudge forward without a defining creative vision. I think that is something that someone who wielded a lot of influence like Steve could have fixed had he been involved a bit more. As it stands, Disney is becoming more and more of the antithesis of Jobs and Apple.

I think Iger must be like John Sculley. Both able to get Jobs enamored, thus out of the way, and both just running a company without any concern as to it having any sort of underlying concept or philosophy. I see no reason to believe that Iger would be just as happy selling "sugared water."

 

[De-Nile]

I think Iger must be like John Sculley. Both able to get Jobs enamored, thus out of the way, and both just running a company without any concern as to it having any sort of underlying concept or philosophy. I see no reason to believe that Iger would be just as happy selling "sugared water."

Exactly. Jobs felt that Sculley was great but that he lacked that one piece that would have built on a successful company. Eisner said similar things about Iger, how he "wasn't creative enough," and how he "didn't get it." This is just further proof of the types of players that need to be involved in order to insure a successful future for not just Disney, but any creative content company. We obviously need more forward-thinkers in upper-management these days, but who could represent a potential power-player at Disney who fits that bill now that Jobs is gone?