NewsMine — cabal-elite — corporate — disney — Viewing Item

Last heir to lead disney resigns { December 1 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0312010148dec01,1,1597850.story?coll=chi-news-hed http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0312010148dec01,1,1597850.story?coll=chi-news-hed Last heir to lead at Disney resigns Founder's nephew faced likely ouster By Gary Gentile Associated Press December 1, 2003 LOS ANGELES -- Disney Vice Chairman Roy Disney, the last family member to be active in the media giant, has resigned from its board of directors, the company said Sunday. He reportedly called on Chairman Michael Eisner to resign as well. Disney's resignation may be a pre-emptive move to avoid being forced off the board of The Walt Disney Co. The board's Governance and Nominating Committee decided not to recommend Disney for another term because he is over the mandated retirement age of 72, said the board's presiding director, former Sen. George Mitchell. The full board is scheduled to meet Monday and Tuesday in New York and board membership is on the agenda. Disney, the nephew of company co-founder Walt Disney, has been increasingly critical of Eisner's leadership. Disney, 73, previously resigned from the board in 1984 to launch a stock battle for the company, which was then headed by Ron Miller, Walt Disney's son-in-law. Disney and Stanley Gold, who runs Disney's investments from a company called Shamrock Holdings, were instrumental in preventing a hostile takeover of the company and installing Eisner and Frank Wells to run Disney. Gold remains on Disney's board. Wells died in a 1994 helicopter crash. Disney's resignation was first reported in The Wall Street Journal, which said Disney sent a scathing three-page letter to Eisner on Sunday critical of his leadership over the last seven years. "It is my sincere belief that it is you that should be leaving and not me," Disney wrote, according to text in the Journal. A call to Disney on Sunday was not immediately returned, but Mitchell issued a statement. "The Governance and Nominating Committee recently informed Mr. Disney of its judgment that the mandatory age limits of the company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, which had previously been unanimously approved by the Board, should be applied to him and two other Board members, Thomas S. Murphy and Raymond Watson," said Mitchell, 70. Eisner is credited with building the company from a minor maker of mediocre films and proprietor of two theme parks in 1984 into a media giant that includes five theme parks around the world, the ABC television network, the ESPN sports cable channel and one of the highest-grossing movie studios. But he has been severely criticized for a series of blunders since 1994, which include paying a multimillion-dollar severance to Michael Ovitz after he served less than two years as Disney president, the clumsy firing of former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg and the steep decline in ABC's ratings. Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune

Chinese double agent head world affairs council Comcast drops disney bid Comcast given silver bullet as eisner stays { March 5 2004 } Disney boots made in sweatshops { August 18 2005 } Disney distances with mcdonalds and sells fruit Disney no fly security zone { May 11 2003 } Disney prevents release of michael moore film { May 5 2004 } Disneys saudi arabia connections { May 7 2004 } Disneyworld cattle tax breaks Eisner doesnt want political film in election year { May 13 2004 } Eisner dropped as chairman as critics persist Fed argue no bail for katrina leung Last heir to lead disney resigns { December 1 2003 } Los angeles vip suspect spy { April 29 2003 } Magic kingdom dissisdents make their case Michael eisner drives away pixar { January 30 2004 } Michael eisner plots comeback Michael eisner takes walk disney { November 30 2003 } Roy disney sees groundswell in rebellion { December 3 2003 } Roy disneys letter michael eisner { December 2 2003 } Sec probes disney { December 4 2002 } Stanley gold calls for eisner resignation { December 1 2003 } War of words erupts at disney Files Listed: 23

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.