Roy E. Disney Resigns

[Damian]

It's from IMDB so take it with a grain of salt.

Jobs To Become Number-Two Man at Disney?


Steve Jobs, the chairman of both Apple Computers and Pixar Animation, may be offered a position in the Walt Disney Co. that would make him second-in-command to Michael Eisner, according to the New York Post, which said that at the least, Jobs might be offered a position on Disney's board. Some analysts, however, scoffed at the notion of the two men being able to work closely together, noting that a year ago, Eisner criticized Apple's "Rip.Mix.Burn" campaign for its iTunes product as an effort to promote piracy. Disney and Pixar are currently in renegotiations over a production/distribution deal, and Jobs has threatened to chuck Pixar's deal with Disney unless it can be substantially improved.

[larphillips]

Originally Posted by Damian

It's from IMDB so take it with a grain of salt.

It if is true, 'analysts' are right to scoff. The same deal with Ovitz was a huge disaster and his golden parachute cost Disney many a nickle.

[Damian]

From IMDB.com

Departed Disney Directors Launch Website


Former Disney directors Roy E. Disney and Stan Gold and their Shamrock investment company launched a website "devoted to those concerned about the welfare of the Walt Disney Company and its future direction." Both men have called for the resignation of Disney Chairman Michael Eisner and are encouraging Internet users to post their views about the direction of the company on the new website. One headline writer described it as "IhateEisner.com." It is expected that the site will particularly attract religious activists who object to the R-rated films produced by Disney's Miramax division and to "gay days" at the company's theme parks.

No word on what the web site address is though.

NPR ran a short piece on it this morning. The website is www.savedisney.com.

[Damian]

I do respect Roy's dedication to what his goal is, but I can't help but feel that he's got a really big hill in front of him. Disney has had a record year. They made more money then they did last year and they have two of the top selling DVD's of all time out right now. Pirates is breaking records and we all already know what a success Nemo was.
In the end I'd like to see Roy come out on top on this one and Disney restored to what it use to be, I just can't imagine it happening right now with all the success they are having.

[larphillips]

Originally Posted by Damian

I do respect Roy's dedication to what his goal is, but I can't help but feel that he's got a really big hill in front of him. Disney has had a record year. They made more money then they did last year and they have two of the top selling DVD's of all time out right now. Pirates is breaking records and we all already know what a success Nemo was.
In the end I'd like to see Roy come out on top on this one and Disney restored to what it use to be, I just can't imagine it happening right now with all the success they are having.

Yeah, and on top of that, Disney and Pixar are very close to finalizing their deal for another multi-picture contract.

[reapersaurus]

Originally Posted by Damian

They made more money then they did last year and they have two of the top selling DVD's of all time out right now. Pirates is breaking records and we all already know what a success Nemo was.

Gee, so if I'm a decrepit old man who is just a shadow of my former greatness, but because of my esteemed reputation in the community, I can finance and present a hot young talent... are you one of the people that actually respects the old guy for being the distribution channel by which the young talent gets to be shown to the world?

I see the old guy as being more of a pimp than someone (something) to respect.
I see the monies that he makes not as any evidence of his business savvy - I see it as a side-effect of his previous successes.

[reapersaurus]

Originally Posted by larphillips

Yeah, and on top of that, Disney and Pixar are very close to finalizing their deal for another multi-picture contract.

Do you think this deal will actually count a sequel as a movie?

I can't believe Disney for pulling that kind of crap and then PIXAR might renew their deal with a business conglomerate that works like that.

I hope they had a fleet of lawyers pore over every line in the contract, and I hope they find some way to stick it back to Disney for earning billions of dollars on PIXAR's sweat, tears and creativity while claiming PIXAR's successes as their own (sublimating PIXAR's name whenever possible and supplanting it with their own).

I wish Disney wasn't in the position of esteem they are - if not, people would (and should) analyze their feelings toward that congolmerate and ask "Should I really be supporting a business that acts like this?"

I leave further listing of the examples of Disneys' acts as an exercise to the reader.

[larphillips]

I look for Pixar to come out the clear winner in these negotiations. Basically they hold all of the chips, and they know that if Disney doesn't agree to their terms, every other studio in H'wood will. Look for Pixar to get a fair contract, a MUCH bigger piece of the pie, and terms that they will benefit from. To stay with Disney still makes sense in that their merchandising and sequel rights remain in one place, they have benefited mightily from Disney's distribution and marketing muscle, and they are able to draw on revinue streams that would be much more difficult to manage, or at least be as simple, as at Disney.

[reapersaurus]

From another board - he got it in an email to stockholders of Disney:
(slightly trimmed for space)

Although not all of our registered supporters are shareholders of record, we wanted to make sure every one of you had the opportunity to see Roy and Stan's urgent message being released today.

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AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR FELLOW DISNEY SHAREHOLDERS

FROM ROY E. DISNEY AND STANLEY P. GOLD

Roy E. Disney
Stanley P. Gold

January 27, 2004

Dear Fellow Walt Disney Company Shareholders:

Now is the time for all Disney shareholders to take the first step to bring needed change to The Walt Disney Company. We ask each of you to join us in our campaign to change senior management’s and the Board’s “business as usual” attitude at Disney.

Join us in voting NO on the re-election of Michael Eisner, George Mitchell, Judith Estrin, and John Bryson as Directors at the Wednesday, March 3 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Philadelphia.

Eight weeks ago, we resigned from the Board of Directors to vividly demonstrate our dissatisfaction with the direction and management of The Walt Disney Company. Our resignation letters, which can be easily accessed on our website www.savedisney.com , describe in detail our reasons. In particular, our ongoing concern is that the Company's senior management has been unable to generate long-term growth and performance and that the Board of Directors has failed to hold management accountable for its failures.


SEND A MESSAGE TO EISNER AND THE BOARD

By just saying NO you will send a message the Board of Directors cannot ignore. By withholding your vote from these four directors - who we believe are representative of what is wrong at Disney - you will force the Board to recognize the widespread conviction that serious changes in both senior management and the Board are necessary.

NO ON EISNER AND NO ON ESTRIN, MITCHELL AND BRYSON

We are seeking a NO vote on Michael Eisner and also a NO vote on George Mitchell, Judith Estrin and John Bryson because they symbolize, respectively, the poor management, poor governance, poor compensation practices, and lack of board independence that are impeding the development of long-term shareholder value at The Walt Disney Company.

MICHAEL EISNER (poor management): Since the death of Frank Wells in 1994, Michael Eisner has been unable to manage growth or achieve performance levels that were once commonplace at The Walt Disney Company. Since 1995, Return-on-Invested Capital has declined by 63% from 18% to 7%. Return-on-Equity has declined by 80% from 22% to 6% and Return-on-Assets has declined by 79% from 10% to 3%. While the Company’s stock has improved in recent months, it is important to note that since January 1996, an initial investment of $10,000 in Disney stock would have grown to only $11,497 over the 8 years ending December 2003, as compared to an investment in Dow Jones which grew to $20,191 (or 75% greater than Disney).

Mr. Eisner has failed to formulate a viable long-term strategy. Instead of investing wisely the cash flow produced by the company over the past ten years, those resources have been squandered on many failed projects, the most recent of which is the $5.2 billion acquisition of the Fox Family Channel.

He has built theme parks using copies of rides found elsewhere and built other attractions that fail to spark the imagination and excitement our guests and customers have a right to expect from Disney. The dismal financial results at Disney’s California Adventure and Disney's Studio Paris are testimony to this flawed strategy.

The revolving door of executives has also led to an enormous loss of creative talent - once the clear hallmark of Disney.

While these activities may provide a short-term (in many cases, very short) boost to revenues, they have the long-term effect of dissipating what has made The Walt Disney Company great. If this process is allowed to continue, Disney will wind up “just another entertainment company”— and will never be able to recover its hard-earned reputation for providing unparalleled quality family entertainment and exceptional value to its guests and customers.

that's the first half

[reapersaurus]

second half

GEORGE MITCHELL (poor governance): We believe Ex-Senator Mitchell is not capable of providing effective leadership as the Company’s “Presiding Director.” He has opposed our repeated efforts to separate the functions of CEO and Chairman of the Board. Instead, he supported the Company’s new governance rules, which are more form than substance — and which have left him as a Presiding Director with no authority or real responsibility.

Equally troubling, in addition to his full-time career as a practicing lawyer, ex-Senator Mitchell serves on far too many other boards to permit him adequate time for his Disney commitments. (It is worth noting that many of the other companies on whose boards he has sat have experienced significant financial, legal, and governance problems — among them Xerox, U.S. Technologies, Oily Rock Group Ltd. and Staples Inc.).

Moreover, within the last several years ex-Senator Mitchell has served as a paid consultant to the Company and his law firm has received more than $1 million in fees from The Walt Disney Company.

JUDITH ESTRIN (poor compensation practices): As Chair of the Board’s Compensation Committee for the past two years, Ms. Estrin engineered what we believe were excessive total compensation packages for the Company’s top five executives. For example, in fiscal 2002, when the Disney stock price was down approximately 16%, total compensation for those executives alone was approximately $40 million.

Good governance requires — and shareholders deserve — a real connection between performance and pay. Under Ms. Estrin's leadership of the Compensation Committee, we believe that connection has been severed.

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JOIN US IN VOTING NO ON YOUR PROXY

WITHHOLD YOUR VOTE FROM EISNER, MITCHELL, ESTRIN AND BRYSON

We believe it is important for you to understand that our actions today are not motivated by any personal ambitions. Neither of us has any desire to be Chairman or CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Rather, we are launching our “Vote No” campaign in an effort to improve the long-term financial health of the Company, to restore shareholder value, and to return the quality of its products and services to a level that will yield sustainable growth.

Make sure your voice is heard. The damage The Walt Disney Company has suffered at the hands of Michael Eisner and the current Board must be repaired before it is too late. VOTE NO TODAY AND BRING BACK THE MAGIC! Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

Roy E. Disney Stanley P. Gold

I like that Roy is following thru with his efforts to improve the company he so obviously cares for.

I love the fact that the shareholders meeting is on my birthday. (As weel as Jimmy Dohan's and Tone-Loc's!) The ouster of Eisner would be a great present!

[Hicks007]

Originally Posted by larphillips

I agree on this point as well. As much as a prick Eisner could be and as much of bastard that he was, I didn't want this to become a slam-fest without adding a dose of history.

Well, didn't the company start going down again when Wells died? And didn't Wells come on board when Eisner did?

So isn't it reasonable to assume that Wells, not Eisner, was the reason for Disney's resugrance in the late 80s/ early 90s? I think so.

[Damian]

Ouchie for Eisner