Iger Reportedly Only Disney Contender
Walt Disney Co. directors late Saturday were considering naming President Robert Iger to succeed Michael Eisner as chief executive after a top outside contender withdrew her name from consideration, sources familiar with the situation said.
Board members, in a previously scheduled meeting, discussed whether to give Iger the job in a conference call after being notified of a decision by EBay Inc. Chief Executive Meg Whitman to bow out. One source said an Iger announcement could come as early as today, but that could not be independently confirmed. Disney declined to comment.
Board members could opt to seek more potential outside contenders, if for no other reason than to blunt critics who have argued that the company hasn’t cast a wide enough net.
But sources said Whitman was told that she and Iger were the only candidates under consideration, which would leave him as the lone contender. Both Iger and Whitman were interviewed by the board within the last week, both in the presence of Eisner, sources said.
The development shows that Disney is closer than previously thought to naming Eisner’s successor. Disney’s board has said it will name a new chief executive by June, but has drawn criticism from dissident shareholders who allege that the board is dragging out the process.
Iger, 54, has been the leading contender for the job, helped by the Burbank company’s improved earnings performance over the last year and a ratings turnaround at the ABC network that Iger oversees. He was named Eisner’s second-in-command in 2000.
Sources said Whitman had asked for a quick decision, saying she likes her job at EBay and didn’t want her candidacy to become a distraction as word leaked out. But she called a board member -- believed to be Chairman George Mitchell -- late Friday night to pull the plug after directors failed to give her the promised answer.
EBay spokesman Henry Gomez confirmed Whitman’s decision, as well as her meeting with the Disney board. “She simply looked at the opportunity and decided she really wanted to stay at EBay,” he said.
Whitman worked at Disney from 1989 until 1992, serving as senior vice president of marketing for the Disney Consumer Products division before leaving for Stride Rite Corp. She became EBay’s chief executive in March 1998.
Whitman’s meeting with Disney directors shows that her interest in succeeding Eisner was much stronger than previously thought. Whitman was known to have been on the short list of candidates, but repeatedly downplayed her interest, saying she was happy at EBay. The board had aggressively courted Whitman, however, impressed with her efforts in turning EBay into an Internet powerhouse.
Directors have struggled to entice other top candidates to show interest, sources say. News Corp. President Peter Chernin has declined to be interviewed in part because of concerns about Eisner’s role in the process, sources close to Chernin said.
Chernin also wanted assurances, sources said, that Eisner would step down immediately after the new chief executive was installed.
Eisner’s contract expires in September 2006. The timing of Eisner’s departure was another issue directors were expected to discuss Saturday. Eisner has taken a keen interest in who his successor will be. He is strongly backing Iger’s candidacy.
Last week, dissident shareholders Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold alleged that the board was allowing Eisner to make a “mockery” of the search by allowing him to sit in on interviews with the candidates. Disney dismissed the allegations as inaccurate.
