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Tag: George Mitchell

  • Disney board gets 92 per cent vote from shareholders

    Disney board gets 92 per cent vote from shareholders

    MUMBAI: Media conglomerate Disney has announced that its shareholders have strongly supported its board of directors at the annual meeting which took place a few days ago.

    The shareholders, voted at least 92 per cent in favor of each member of the board of directors. At the meeting Disney chairman George Mitchell reviewed the company’s ongoing governance changes, recent changes to Disney’s executive compensation plans, and the management succession process.

    Mitchell said, “The Board is committed to a process to find the best possible person to decisively and creatively lead this company into its very promising future.”

    Disney CEO Michael Eisner and President Bob Iger also told investors that the Disney management team is focused on the right priorities to drive growth over the long term. The aim is to produce world-class creative content across the company. The focus will also rest on improving earnings and cash flow, as well as the returns on invested capital.

    At the meeting Eisner and Iger also highlighted upcoming major events of 2005. These include the celebration of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland and the upcoming film slate from Walt Disney Studios, as well as the strength of Disney’s media properties, including Disney Channel, ESPN and ABC’s recent performance.

    Meanwhile the shareholders voted in favour of four of five proposals presented. They included the election of 12 existing directors to new one-year terms, ratification of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company’s independent accountants for the current fiscal year, and approval of the 2005 stock incentive plan. However they rejected a shareholder proposal regarding China labour standards, and approved a non-binding shareholder resolution to bar payment of greenmail.

    Shareholders rejected the proposal relating to the manufacture of Disney-branded products in China. At the meeting Mitchell took time out to review the company’s active efforts in promoting responsible labour practices.

  • Media speculation rife on Karmazin’s next stop

    Media speculation rife on Karmazin’s next stop

    MUMBAI: After Viacom what does Mel Karmazin have next up his sleeve? That is the big question doing the rounds of US media circles.

    There has been strong talk that Karmazin might join Disney in the near future by succeeding Michael Eisner as the CEO. That is something Roy Disney and the dissident group would be cock a hoop about. The differences between Eisner and Roy Disney have been well documented.

    However, not surprisingly, Disney chairman George Mitchell reacted to the talk by issuing a statement saying, “The board has complete confidence in the current management. On the strength of our recent results we believe that confidence has been justified, and will be further validated as our performance continues to improve.”

    The Disney talk has been gaining momentum because Eisner’s top deputy, Bob Iger is not seen as a potential heir to the Disney throne. Karmazin is said to be on a list of at least 20 candidates the Disney board has compiled for succession.

    There has also been talk of Karmazin heading to Time Warner. A report in CBS Marketwatch stated that while Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons has thus far been able to keep shareholders happy, should Time Warner stumble again Karmazin could well be called upon to revive the giant. In fact rumours of Time Warner looking at Karmazin go back over a year when the outfit was called AOL Time Warner. At that time he had been courted to serve as president of the media conglomerate.

    There is also the possibility of Karmazin being tapped to function as Parsons’ number 2, but that remains another long shot.

    Media reports are also of the opinion that Karmazin going to NBC Universal is a more distant shot. That is because NBC is going though a difficult phase. On his part Karmazin has maintained that so far he has not intimated anybody about his future plans.

  • Disney board backs Eisner, Iger

    Disney board backs Eisner, Iger

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company board meeting couldn’t spring any surprises. The embattled chief executive officer Michael Eisner got a breather as the company’s board of directors extended him their full support.

    The major outcome of the two-day retreat at Disney’s headquarters in Burbank was the decision to divide powers between chairman George Mitchell and Eisner.

    Meanwhile, the ice-cold approach of Disney director board has provoked Comcast Corporation to pull out from their ambitious bid for Disney. Comcast had earlier made an unsolicited bid for the company. But the Disney board declined to make any reference to the bid in their statement.

    Disney’s board also gave their full backing to Eisner’s team of executives. The board agreed that they had a discussion on CEO and senior management succession plans during the meeting, but refused to divulge details.

    “The board continues to have complete confidence in Michael Eisner, (chief operating officer) Bob Iger and the senior management team and in their strategic growth plan to continue to strengthen the company’s position as the global leader in quality family entertainment,” the board said in a statement.

    Chairman George Mitchell will be in charge of presiding over board meetings, setting the agenda and coordinating the board’s review of management’s performance. The board in a statement said it had approved the division of duties between Eisner and new chairman George Mitchell, and that Eisner’s management authority was unchanged.

    Eisner had been holding the twin-posts of the chairman and CEO before the 3 March’s investors’ meet stripped him of his position as chairman. Since then, he has been under pressure from some high-profile shareholders.

    The rebel shareholders have been accusing the company of damaging the shareholder value by making poor investment decisions and over-exploiting the company’s animation heritage.

    Disney has returned the blame pointing out the record studio performance they made last year plus forecasts of an earnings-growth of more than 40 per cent in the current fiscal.

  • Eisner out as Disney chairman, retains CEO title

    Eisner out as Disney chairman, retains CEO title

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney company is in the news yet again. While last month it was in the limelight because of the unsolicited bid made by Comcast, this time round it is for different reasons altogether.

    The company’s CEO and chairman Michael Eisner has been removed from the post of chairman at the company’s annual meeting which took place on 3 March. However Eisner retains his position as chief executive of the company. The board also unanimously elected former US senator George Mitchell as chairman.

    The decision came after 43 per cent of shareholders withheld their votes from Eisner, who has been blamed by some for the lackluster performance of the media-entertainment powerhouse in recent years.

    According to a media report, the vote sent shock waves through corporate America and marked the strongest such protest against an incumbent chief executive ever, signaling Disney’s concession was unlikely to satisfy shareholders campaigning for Eisner’s removal. Disney’s board said that while it recognised that some shareholders were calling for Eisner’s ouster, it was confident that the entertainment conglomerate’s financial results would validate its support of management and current strategy.

    The Disney board was quoted in media reports saying that, “While making this change in governance, the board remains unanimous in its support of the company’s management team and of Michael Eisner, who will continue to serve as chief executive officer.”

    One media report said that in the meeting, the board also said that Comcast’s takeover proposal was not in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. It also said it that it was open to looking at a “reasonable proposal.”

    However it is believed that this speedy move probably won’t please Roy Disney and his supporters. The problem, according to Disney and fellow axed board member Stanley Gold, is that the current board was hand-picked by Eisner with the not-too-surprising result that they tended to rubber stamp his decisions. Hence an independent chairman was sought from outside.

    Taking advantage of this sudden move and decision, Comcast had another go at bidding for the company which was however dismissed. So it looks like Disney is going to be in the news for a while now.

  • Disney board undertakes annual review

    Disney board undertakes annual review

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney company’s board of directors yesterday voted unanimously to enhance the company’s corporate governance guidelines, including the adoption of strengthened standards relating to the independence of directors, and then performed its annual review of director independence.

    Senator George Mitchell was re-elected to a second term as presiding director while the membership of key board committees was reconstituted. The board also got in two new independent members, Aylwin Lewis, President, Chief Multibranding and Operating Officer of YUM! Brands, Inc., and John Chen, chairman, CEO and president of Sybase, Inc.; both of whom were elected in 2003.

    After amending governance guidelines, the board conducted its annual review of director independence, taking into account directors’ relationships with the company or with members of senior management, says a company release. As a result, the board determined that under the new guidelines, all directors are independent except Michael Eisner, Disney chairman and CEO; Robert Iger, Disney president and COO; and John Bryson. Eisner and Iger are considered inside directors because of their employment as senior executives of the company.

    Senator George Mitchell has been re-elected as presiding director for 2004-05 and will continue to chair executive board sessions of independent and non-management directors and perform other tasks set forth in the governance guidelines or requested by the Board.