Eisner may exit job as chairman
He would remain as CEO, a move that could upset critics.
By James Bates and Richard Verrier | Los Angeles Times and Orlando Sentinel
Posted March 3, 2004
PHILADELPHIA -- Walt Disney Co. insiders said late Tuesday that Michael Eisner may step down as chairman of the board but remain as the company's chief executive.
The board's anticipated move to split the two jobs -- an abrupt reversal of position -- comes as Eisner faces a bitterly contested shareholder vote today on his re-election to the board. Although running unopposed, he could be wounded if a substantial percentage of shareholders withhold votes from him.
Sources close to the board said former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, now the board's presiding director, would be the leading candidate to replace Eisner as chairman.
Word of the board's plan -- leaked on the eve of the company's much anticipated annual meeting here -- was immediately blasted by Eisner's critics, who say he should also be ousted as chief executive. They accuse him of tarnishing Disney's finances and image through poor management decisions.
But any move would raise questions as to what, if any, effect it would have. The board chairman's role varies tremendously from company to company, ranging from ceremonial posts to activists who closely monitor CEOs.
Some Disney stockholders, already steamed at Eisner, argue that simply splitting the two jobs would fail to address their underlying concerns about Eisner's management of such assets as the ABC network and its once-powerhouse animation unit. Indeed, some powerful shareholders, including the California Public Employees Retirement System, say nothing less than Eisner's leaving is needed to fix Disney.
Former directors Roy Disney and Stanley Gold spent much of the day debunking the plan to split Eisner's titles as "spinning" by the company as part of an effort to discount the growing challenge to Eisner's leadership. The two men, who are championing the opposition movement, accuse the company of trying to shift the debate to Eisner's titles from the argument that he must go.
"We need to find him a new job in a galaxy far, far away," Roy Disney said.
James Bates writes for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing newspaper. Richard Verrier can be reached at richard.verrier@latimes.com or 1-800-528-4637, Ext. 77936.
He would remain as CEO, a move that could upset critics.
By James Bates and Richard Verrier | Los Angeles Times and Orlando Sentinel
Posted March 3, 2004
PHILADELPHIA -- Walt Disney Co. insiders said late Tuesday that Michael Eisner may step down as chairman of the board but remain as the company's chief executive.
The board's anticipated move to split the two jobs -- an abrupt reversal of position -- comes as Eisner faces a bitterly contested shareholder vote today on his re-election to the board. Although running unopposed, he could be wounded if a substantial percentage of shareholders withhold votes from him.
Sources close to the board said former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, now the board's presiding director, would be the leading candidate to replace Eisner as chairman.
Word of the board's plan -- leaked on the eve of the company's much anticipated annual meeting here -- was immediately blasted by Eisner's critics, who say he should also be ousted as chief executive. They accuse him of tarnishing Disney's finances and image through poor management decisions.
But any move would raise questions as to what, if any, effect it would have. The board chairman's role varies tremendously from company to company, ranging from ceremonial posts to activists who closely monitor CEOs.
Some Disney stockholders, already steamed at Eisner, argue that simply splitting the two jobs would fail to address their underlying concerns about Eisner's management of such assets as the ABC network and its once-powerhouse animation unit. Indeed, some powerful shareholders, including the California Public Employees Retirement System, say nothing less than Eisner's leaving is needed to fix Disney.
Former directors Roy Disney and Stanley Gold spent much of the day debunking the plan to split Eisner's titles as "spinning" by the company as part of an effort to discount the growing challenge to Eisner's leadership. The two men, who are championing the opposition movement, accuse the company of trying to shift the debate to Eisner's titles from the argument that he must go.
"We need to find him a new job in a galaxy far, far away," Roy Disney said.
James Bates writes for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing newspaper. Richard Verrier can be reached at richard.verrier@latimes.com or 1-800-528-4637, Ext. 77936.
