Iger Walks Fine Line on Disney CEO Succession

When Walt Disney Co. President Robert Iger took the stage Tuesday to address investors here, he clued them in on what it was like to play second fiddle to Michael Eisner.

“Working as a No. 2 hasn’t been all that bad, but it’s time for me to move on,” Iger said. Then he delivered the punch line: “I’m not talking about my career; I’m talking about my presentation.”

That was as close as the presumptive favorite to fill Eisner’s shoes got to the issue most on the minds of the nearly 200 analysts and investors here.

Throughout the two-day Walt Disney World conference, Iger walked a fine line. While seeking to project himself as someone capable of heading the Burbank-based company, he avoided aggressively campaigning for the job of chief executive. Disney directors have promised shareholders a thorough search before naming a CEO to replace Eisner, who will retire when his contract expires in 2006.

“He can’t get ahead of himself,” said New York media analyst Harold Vogel.

“He hasn’t been anointed yet. He’s got to play the job he’s got.”

The 53-year-old Iger has made no secret that he wants to be the sixth executive to lead the entertainment giant in its 82-year history. And Eisner is backing Iger.

Disney directors are conducting a search they are committed to finishing by June. Such names as News Corp. President Peter Chernin and EBay Inc. CEO Meg Whitman are believed to be on the short list of candidates.

Eisner’s backing of Iger has provoked suspicions, notably among dissident investors and former directors Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold, that the fix is in.

The two, who led an anti-Eisner rebellion last year, suggest the company is conducting a shadow campaign to promote Iger, whom they have criticized as being too close to Eisner.

Mindful of a possible backlash, Disney executives have been careful not to suggest that the job is Iger’s to lose. During presentations here Tuesday, the only Disney executive to directly address the subject was Chairman George J. Mitchell, who rejected suggestions that the outcome of the CEO search was a fait accompli.

“We approach this decision in good faith with open minds,” Mitchell said.

“There has been no prior determination. There are no preconditions.”

Still, many who attended the gathering came away convinced that Iger would soon have the job, especially with the company’s improving fortunes led by its theme parks and the ABC network.

“Most people are comfortable with Bob, given his knowledge of the company,” said Neil Begley, senior vice president of media and entertainment at Moody’s Investors Service. “The company has rebounded nicely. I would say he has to be the front-runner.”

Iger’s 17-minute speech was laced with self-deprecating humor. Referring to ABC, a network that has been acquired twice since he joined it 31 years ago, Iger said that should he write an autobiography, he would call it: “I’ve Been Bought.”

Iger praised the three bosses he has had in his career, including Eisner. “I’m not including Michael Ovitz in that” group, he said, referring to Disney’s ill-fated 1995 hiring of the former Hollywood super agent as president, which led to a still-unresolved shareholder lawsuit against directors.

For his part, Eisner avoided making Iger’s case too strongly, measuring his words as if an abundance of praise could hurt Iger’s chances.

He did tell the analysts at the meeting that Iger “more than anybody is responsible for the success of the Walt Disney Co.” But he passed up an invitation to give Iger a flat-out plug. Asked by analysts what qualities a new CEO should have, Eisner didn’t name a name.

But, he said: “It’s pretty obvious the kind of man or woman the company needs.”