During just the last year, Michael Eisner has weathered several storms, any one of which could have sunk a less seasoned, or stubborn, executive.
In March 2004, after Walt Disney Co. shareholders blistered him with a 45% vote of no confidence, he was removed as chairman of the board. Late last year, his judgment was repeatedly questioned during testimony at a trial about his ill-fated hiring of his former friend Michael Ovitz. A bestselling book released a few weeks ago portrayed him as paranoid and obsessed with his enemies.
On Sunday the resilient chief executive who has run Disney for nearly 21 years appeared to have the last laugh. With the naming of Disney President Robert Iger as his successor, Eisner demonstrated once again the enormous control he wields over the Magic Kingdom.
By picking Iger, an Eisner protege and the lone inside candidate, the Disney board effectively endorsed the status quo. In contrast to an outsider, who might have felt pressure to transform the Burbank-based entertainment corporation, Iger will no doubt endorse continuity.
"He's got his mouse ears attached on solidly," said Gigi Johnson, executive director of the entertainment and media management institute at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. "It will be hard for him to make changes."
Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners, agreed, saying: "This means there will be no extreme makeover at Disney."
The board's decision revealed Eisner's genius for managing and protecting his legacy at Disney, which under his watch grew from a $1.5-billion-a-year company to a $30-billion one. But then he's well known for his attention to detail -- including such minutiae as the color of the curtains in Disney's hotel rooms, which he personally selected.
What was striking Sunday wasn't just that Eisner got his way. It was that the role he insisted on playing in the search seemed to have assured his success.
According to several sources, allowing Eisner to be part of the interviewing process made it hard for Disney to lure strong contenders.
There were grumblings that some outside candidates would agree to be interviewed only if Eisner weren't present, a detail that sources confirmed Sunday.
But Eisner didn't back down. When EBay Inc. Chief Executive Meg Whitman showed up in Los Angeles this month, he sat in during the entire three-hour interview, according to a source familiar with the matter.
