Eisner

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You post nothing factual. Keep ignoring reality and I’m going back to ignoring you.

You say there’s nothing that can effect Disney...I bet because you sleep with your parkhopper under your pillow.

Ignore away, Fantasyland. If you ignore history...there’s nothing to talk about

 

[YorkshireT]

Read Disney War, great book.
Eisner I personally love. I’ve even toyed with going down to Portsmouth FC on match day as I’d like to bump into him. He is very creative, and cared about the quality and experience just as much as making money. If it wasn’t for him, we would likely not have had HWS, Epcot (less likely) the Boardwalk resorts or even DVC.
In another football (soccer) theme, Wells was the Peter Taylor to Eisner’s Brian Clough (look it up).

 

[Mouse Trap]

Yes...just disney. Even Eisner saw Disney lasting forever as part of “him”...he’s a creative guy.
Iger is not...he’s a Hollywood suit.

Upthread, somebody said Iger was “eisners handpicked successor”
That literally can’t be farther from the truth. Iger was a bland fallback from roy’s uprising. Plain and simple.

And as you know...I’m not a novice in either Disney history nor insight into Disney market, business strategies or operations.

Disney clientele is a lot more than DVCs. That’s maybe 25% on a given day in Orlando...far fewer everywhere else.

Travel goes with the economy - believe it or not. First to fall, last to rise.

I’ve watched as warning signs have quietly compiled.

We’ll see what happens.

Iger certainly was not a "fall back", the board had plenty of options.

BUT Iger certainly was not handpicked by Eisner. Michael Ovitz was his handpicked succesor (we all know how that turned out), but Eisner at one point went as far as instructing Ovitz to push Iger into resigning during the end of his tenure.

 

[Disstevefan1]

#BringBackEisner

 

[lazyboy97o]

Iger certainly was not a "fall back", the board had plenty of options.

BUT Iger certainly was not handpicked by Eisner. Michael Ovitz was his handpicked succesor (we all know how that turned out), but Eisner at one point went as far as instructing Ovitz to push Iger into resigning during the end of his tenure.

Ovitz left Disney in early 1997. His friendship with Eisner did not survive the experience. Iger was made President and COO in 2000 and held that post for the rest of his tenure at Disney. He was Eisner’s chosen successor. Ovitz was only around for a few months after Capital Cities/ABC was acquired and Eisner credited Iger with successfully merging the two businesses together.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Ovitz left Disney in early 1997. His friendship with Eisner did not survive the experience. Iger was made President and COO in 2000 and held that post for the rest of his tenure at Disney. He was Eisner’s chosen successor. Ovitz was only around for a few months after Capital Cities/ABC was acquired and Eisner credited Iger with successfully merging the two businesses together.

Eisner “inherited” Iger when he bought his old boss: abc.

The take on their relationship in middle management was that while Eisner had “similarities” with Iger - both started in tv - but Iger was the Classical ledger sheet/task manager from Hollywood. A bland exec that had no creative instincts.

What did Eisner do religiously in his later tenure after Wells? Remove threats. Iger was not one.

Eisner thought Iger to be an empty suit...a capable/respectable one...but no genius. Not his protege at all.

The other factor was that Roy jacked 44% of the stock support and won his game against Eisner quickly...whoever replaced him had to be acceptable to Roy. At that time, Iger was stable and had “Disney experience”...and as explained, kissed roy’s Butt enough to be installed.

That’s how it happened.

If Roy was around now...he’d hate Iger. That we’ll never know

 

[Mouse Trap]

Ovitz left Disney in early 1997. His friendship with Eisner did not survive the experience. Iger was made President and COO in 2000 and held that post for the rest of his tenure at Disney. He was Eisner’s chosen successor. Ovitz was only around for a few months after Capital Cities/ABC was acquired and Eisner credited Iger with successfully merging the two businesses together.

What’s your point? Ovitz was handpicked by Esiner... before Iger. He didn’t last and the board had many options for CEO when the time came later on.

Eisner literally instructed Ovitz to oust Iger at one point. Ovitz cautioned against this and refused (or so the story goes). Eisner certainly wanted someone else or just flat out felt threatened. If Eisner got his way I’m confident Disney would be in poor shape or at the least acquired by now.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What’s your point? Ovitz was handpicked by Esiner... before Iger. He didn’t last and the board had many options for CEO when the time came later on.

Eisner literally instructed Ovitz to oust Iger at one point. Ovitz cautioned against this and refused (or so the story goes). Eisner certainly wanted someone else or just flat out felt threatened. If Eisner got his way I’m confident Disney would be in poor shape or at the least acquired by now.

Ovitz was not chosen as a successor, he was supposed to do the boring and dirty work for Eisner. Iger was promoted, twice, by Eisner. He was his hand picked successor when that time came. This was documented plenty at the time and why the choice of Iger and his acceptance by Roy was so surprising.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Ovitz was not chosen as a successor, he was supposed to do the boring and dirty work for Eisner. Iger was promoted, twice, by Eisner. He was his hand picked successor when that time came. This was documented plenty at the time and why the choice of Iger and his acceptance by Roy was so surprising.

Sorry, Laz...

You’re interpreting the events wrong as they unfolded.

Iger was a safe choice...and a good one based on his tenure and experience...but Eisner didn’t promote or advocated at all.

They needed somebody...they had him...they had a 2 year power struggle and that’s not good for investors.

What’s done is done.

I would like to point out that Iger has been WORSE at succession than Eisner was. Absolutely terrible. And he’s gotten zero flak for it

 

[Mouse Trap]

Ovitz was not chosen as a successor, he was supposed to do the boring and dirty work for Eisner. Iger was promoted, twice, by Eisner. He was his hand picked successor when that time came. This was documented plenty at the time and why the choice of Iger and his acceptance by Roy was so surprising.

You’re way off. No one takes a job to do “boring dirty work” at that level, especially not someone like Ovitz. Yes, he was mislead, but still there were big plans for him.

Eisner wouldn’t have sent Ovitz to can Iger if anything you were saying was true. But you’re somewhat correct as EVENTUALLY Iger became the “handpicked successor”

 

[lazyboy97o]

Sorry, Laz...

You’re interpreting the events wrong as they unfolded.

Iger was a safe choice...and a good one based on his tenure and experience...but Eisner didn’t promote or advocated at all.

They needed somebody...they had him...they had a 2 year power struggle and that’s not good for investors.

What’s done is done.

I would like to point out that Iger has been WORSE at succession than Eisner was. Absolutely terrible. And he’s gotten zero flak for it

You’re way off. No one takes a job to do “boring dirty work” at that level, especially not someone like Ovitz. Yes, he was mislead, but still there were big plans for him.

Eisner wouldn’t have sent Ovitz to can Iger if anything you were saying was true. But you’re somewhat correct as EVENTUALLY Iger became the “handpicked successor”

“Among all of our key people, I knew Bob Iger least well at the time of the merger. He quickly emerged as a significant force in the company. In addition to running ABC, he became the point person in the efforts to bring the two companies together. To a very complex job he brought a range of skills—not least that he woke up very early in the morning and worked very late in the evenings.”
- Michael Eisner, Work in Progress, p. 389

That passage is about a paragraph removed from Ovitz leaving Disney. It is a complete aside. There was no need for Eisner to call out Iger. He is briefly mentioned as an aside in Eisner’s chapter on acquiring ABC. Not exactly the description of someone you wanted to fire a few months prior, barely into their time as your employee.

Ovitz and Save Disney are separated by just over half a decade. The Board made a big deal about searching outside Disney for Eisner’s replacement because initially Roy didn’t want Eisner’s guy, his loyal number two, getting the job. Even if Eisner had grand succession plans for Ovitz, he was already toxic by the time Iger enters the Company and his promotions in the future.