Source: http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_ge ... e=20050313WSJ UPDATE:Disney Board Expected To Name Iger As CEO-Source
Sunday March 13, 3:54 AM EST
(Updates a story sent at 2:07 a.m. by adding second reporter to byline)
By Merissa Marr and Mylene Mangalinden
Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) board is soon expected to name President Robert Iger as its new chief executive, according to a person familiar with the situation. Mr. Iger would succeed longtime chief Michael Eisner, who has announced plans to step down.
Disney's board met late Saturday to discuss the CEO search. The leading external contender, EBay Inc. (EBAY) Chief Executive Meg Whitman, withdrew her candidacy Friday.
(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)
Having been stripped of his chairman title in a shareholder revolt last year, Eisner announced plans to depart as CEO when his contract expires in September 2006. Disney's board had pledged to choose a new CEO by this June, and hired a search firm to look for external candidates.
Eisner put forward Iger, his number two, as his preferred internal candidate some months ago. Iger has been Disney's president since 2000, and was a top executive at Capital Cities/ABC Inc. before it was acquired by Disney in the mid-1990s.
Together with Eisner, he saw Disney through a long earnings slump in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But he gained momentum as a CEO candidate in the past year as Disney's financial performance picked up, especially in the television business with hits like "Desperate Housewives."
The promotion of Iger, 54, could be announced as soon as Sunday.
According to people close to Disney, the board was also due to consider whether to usher Eisner out of the company soon after a new CEO is selected. That would provide some cover for the board with Iger's appointment; critics have said that he would not have true control of the company if Eisner remained in the picture in any way.
Disney's board had hired a search firm to court external candidates for the CEO position as well. But it difficult to lure outsiders, given Eisner's backing for Iger. A number of high-profile CEOs and top media executives were approached but declined to be interviewed, people familiar with the situation said.
However, Whitman, one of the most prominent CEOs in the technology industry, met with the Disney board this week, after being heavily courted by board members and an executive recruiter, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Whitman was told that she was the sole external candidate, according to the person familiar with the situation. Whitman had worked at Disney and loved the brand, and was eventually persuaded by the Disney board to go through the selection process.
Ultimately, Whitman decided to remain at eBay, in part because Disney was taking longer than she had been promised in choosing a CEO, the person said.
One major advantage Iger had is the fact that he knows Disney better than any other candidate. Iger spent 20 years working his way up the ranks at ABC and has worked closely with Eisner for many years.
Married to television journalist Willow Bay, Iger has four children.
-By Merissa Marr and Mylene Mangalinden of the Wall Street Journal, merissa.marr@wsj.com, 323-658-3818; mylene.mangalinden@wsj.com, 415-765-6114
Dow Jones Newswires
03-13-05 0354ET
Well, many of our fears have been confirmed. This is just slightly crushing, after having hopes raised by SaveDisney's successes. Iger = more of the same.
-Aaron
