Disney Quietly Relocates Its Annual Board Retreat

Walt Disney Co. quietly decided to move the location of its annual board retreat to its Burbank headquarters, fueling speculation that it wanted to avoid the media spotlight while directors were taking up several sensitive issues.

The two-day event, which ends today, originally was to be held at an Anaheim hotel to coincide with the announcement of plans to celebrate Disneyland’s 50th anniversary.

A source close to the board said directors were informed of the change last week. However, Disney spokeswoman Zenia Mucha declined to comment on the reason for the move, saying only that it was not a last-minute decision.

But the change of venue led some to question whether Disney wanted to sidestep the kind of scrutiny that overtook its shareholder meeting last month in Philadelphia.

At that event, shareholders delivered a 45% protest vote against Chief Executive Michael Eisner after former director Roy E. Disney staged a campaign to oust Eisner, citing the company’s lackluster results over much of the last decade. A standing bid by cable giant Comcast Corp. to buy Disney added to the intrigue of that meeting.

During the retreat, the board was expected to discuss a host of thorny issues, including who will succeed Eisner and when. The directors also were expected to hear plans for fixing Disney’s ailing ABC television network.

On Monday, the board heard presentations from various company executives, including studio chief Dick Cook, who gave an overview of Disney’s slate of movies.

“Apparently, they were concerned that there could be a media circus and it would be very difficult for directors to walk in and out of the hotel lobby without having the press pounce all over them,” one Disney critic, who declined to be identified, speculated about the venue change.

Shares of Disney slipped 27 cents Monday to $24.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.