Walt Disney said on Sunday its president, Robert Iger, will succeed Michael Eisner as chief executive and that Eisner will leave his post one year earlier than previously announced.
Iger, who is credited with reversing the fortunes of its ABC television network, was considered a front-runner from the start, but two prominent shareholders who helped propel Eisner’s departure criticised the company for choosing an insider ”by default” instead of someone who might make bigger changes.
Iger, set to be only the sixth head of Disney in the company’s history, is taking over an entertainment giant whose profits have begun to rebound after several rocky years.
Disney board chairperson George Mitchell said Iger’s choice came after a ”lengthy, thorough and professional selection process” that included serious consideration of outside candidates.
He declined to be more specific, but an eBay spokesperson confirmed on Sunday that eBay CEO Meg Whitman had withdrawn her application for the job on Friday after being interviewed.
”We believe Bob Iger represents the right blend of continuity, of very successful performance … and a recognition of needed change” in the areas of new technology and expanding the company’s business in Asia, Mitchell said during a conference call with reporters.
The company said Iger was unanimously elected by the board at a meeting on Saturday and will take charge on October 1, the start of Disney’s 2006 fiscal year.
Eisner, leader of the media and theme park company for 21 years, will step down the day before. He will remain on the board for another year, and Disney will pay him until September 30, 2006, when his contract expires.
Former board members Roy Disney and Stanley Gold alleged in a statement on Sunday that Eisner inappropriately participated in candidate interviews. The two also alleged that some external candidates declined to be interviewed because of Eisner’s role.
”We find it incomprehensible that the board of directors of Disney failed to find a single external candidate interested in the job and thus handed Bob Iger the job by default,” the two men said.
”The need for the Walt Disney Company to have a clean break from the prior regime and to change the leadership culture has been glaringly obvious to everyone except this board.”
Mitchell strongly denied the allegations, saying Eisner was never present during any interviews with Iger and attended only part of one meeting with an unidentified candidate.
”That was the full extent of his interaction with any candidates, internal or external,” Mitchell said on Sunday. ”The allegation is false and irresponsible.”
Iger, a board member, did not participate in any succession planning meetings, Mitchell said.
Iger (54) who also serves as chief operating officer, was president of Capital Cities/ABC when Disney bought the company in 1995, and went on to become president of the ABC Group and head of Walt Disney International. He was named president in 2000.
He has kept a relatively low profile at the company, although he has been more vocal about his vision for Disney since last September, when Eisner announced plans to depart.
Iger is credited with help ABC rebound after the network slid to fourth in the ratings. Thanks to hits such as Desperate Housewives, it is poised to turn a profit this year.
Iger also played a behind-the-scenes role in smoothing out the contentious relationship between Eisner and Miramax Films co-chairperson Harvey Weinstein. On Sunday, Weinstein praised Iger’s selection, although Disney and the Weinsteins are still expected to sever ties later this month.
”I’ve had a great working relationship with Bob Iger and think he’s a terrific choice,” Weinstein said.
The selection of Iger follows several difficult years for Disney, which also owns cable channel ESPN, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and Walt Disney Studios. It has been especially difficult for Eisner, who was removed as board chairperson last year after shareholders withheld 45% of their votes for his re-election to the board.
Since then, the company’s fortunes have improved, although a recent trial over a multimillion-dollar severance paid to another former Disney president, Michael Ovitz, and an unflattering book about Eisner’s long reign have left his legacy in doubt.
In a letter to the board on Sunday, Eisner praised the decision and said he will not ask to be nominated for another term on the board when his current term expires next year. Eisner also said he will not seek the board chairmanship after Mitchell retires.
Mitchell, who will turn the board’s mandatory retirement age of 72 next year, has said he will not stand for re-election at the 2006 annual meeting.
Disney’s board first split the roles of chairperson and chief executive last year after shareholders delivered a stinging vote of no confidence in Eisner, who then held both titles. – Sapa-AP