Abstract

This case highlights the succession problems in the Walt Disney Company (WDC). Eisner, the Chairman and CEO of WDC, was credited with having transformed Disney from a movie studio and theme park operator into a huge media conglomerate. However many shareholders criticized Eisner for being responsible for the controversial exits of his deputies like Katzenberg and Ovitz, which involved huge multi million dollar settlements. Added to this since 2003, Eisner had fallen out with Roy E Disney. Eisner was criticized for poor governance, improper handling of WDCs business, and the failure to identify an able successor. After Eisner was voted out as chairman in March 2004, the WDC board tried to find a successor. However after many months of scouting and intense media speculation about Eisner’s successor, the WDC board ended up selecting Iger, Eisner’s deputy to take over the reins from Eisner from October 1, 2005.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Importance of succession planning in large organizations
• and Impact of issues like corporate culture, leadership, and share-holder management with regard to succession planning.

Keywords

Succession planning, Walt Disney, Michael Eisner, Pixar Animation Studios, Steve Jobs, Human resource management, USA, Robert Iger, Roy Disney, Shareholder revolt, Comcast, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Ovitz, Severance pay