Found this article at the LA Times on George Mitchell and his dealings not only within Disney but other companies he's sat on. Highly questionable.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mitchell4mar04,0,3345782.story?coll=la-headlines-business
Glass Lewis issued a report shortly before the Philadelphia meeting that said: "We do not believe he is independent in the true spirit of independence."
Critics note that Mitchell's law firm, Piper Rudnick, has received more than $2.1 million in fees and expenses from Disney since the politician-turned-corporate statesman joined the board.
Those payments ended two years ago amid an outcry from corporate governance experts.
While serving as a director, Mitchell has received about $300,000 in fees as a paid consultant to Disney, which terminated the arrangement in late 2001.
Mitchell didn't respond to a request for comment placed through a Disney spokeswoman.
As the spotlight has turned on Disney in recent weeks, it cast an unflattering glare on Mitchell's relationship with a number of corporations since he retired from the Senate in 1995.
Mitchell has been paid up to $100,000 a year per firm as a consultant to while serving on the board of a string of firms, including FedEx Corp., Staples Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Casella Waste Systems Inc., according to a review of proxy statements and other documents.
Two of the firms, FedEx and Starwood, also retained the services of Piper Rudnick, where Mitchell is a partner, while he was a director on their boards, the report said. (FedEx said last year it expected to stop using the firm.)
Glass Lewis criticized Mitchell's "active participation in companies with questionable results."
In one such instance, Mitchell sat on the board of Xerox Corp. until 2002. He departed just after the copier conglomerate agreed to pay a then-record $10 million fine to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint that it had inflated financial results from 1997 to 2001, which included much of Mitchell's tenure.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mitchell4mar04,0,3345782.story?coll=la-headlines-business
Glass Lewis issued a report shortly before the Philadelphia meeting that said: "We do not believe he is independent in the true spirit of independence."
Critics note that Mitchell's law firm, Piper Rudnick, has received more than $2.1 million in fees and expenses from Disney since the politician-turned-corporate statesman joined the board.
Those payments ended two years ago amid an outcry from corporate governance experts.
While serving as a director, Mitchell has received about $300,000 in fees as a paid consultant to Disney, which terminated the arrangement in late 2001.
Mitchell didn't respond to a request for comment placed through a Disney spokeswoman.
As the spotlight has turned on Disney in recent weeks, it cast an unflattering glare on Mitchell's relationship with a number of corporations since he retired from the Senate in 1995.
Mitchell has been paid up to $100,000 a year per firm as a consultant to while serving on the board of a string of firms, including FedEx Corp., Staples Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Casella Waste Systems Inc., according to a review of proxy statements and other documents.
Two of the firms, FedEx and Starwood, also retained the services of Piper Rudnick, where Mitchell is a partner, while he was a director on their boards, the report said. (FedEx said last year it expected to stop using the firm.)
Glass Lewis criticized Mitchell's "active participation in companies with questionable results."
In one such instance, Mitchell sat on the board of Xerox Corp. until 2002. He departed just after the copier conglomerate agreed to pay a then-record $10 million fine to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint that it had inflated financial results from 1997 to 2001, which included much of Mitchell's tenure.
