Disney appoints new chief executive
Walt Disney president Robert Iger is to succeed controversial Michael Eisner as chief executive, the entertainment conglomerate announced last night.
Eisner will leave his post a year earlier than previously announced.
Iger, who is credited with reversing the fortunes of Disney’s ABC TV network, was always considered a front-runner 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.
Former board members Roy Disney and Stanley Gold alleged 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.”
Iger, set to be only the sixth head of Disney in the company’s history, is taking over a company whose profits have begun to rebound after several rocky years.
Disney board chairman George Mitchell said Iger’s choice came after a “lengthy, thorough and professional selection process” that included serious consideration of outside candidates.
