Michael Eisner
Encyclopedia
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer
of The Walt Disney Company
from 1984 until 2005.
, the son of Margaret (née Dammann) and Lester Eisner, Jr. His great-grandfather, Sigmund Eisner
, was one of the first uniform suppliers to the Boy Scouts of America
. He was raised on Park Avenue
in Manhattan
. He attended the Allen-Stevenson School
kindergarten through ninth grade followed by The Lawrenceville School in tenth through his senior year and graduated from Denison University
in 1964 with a B.A.
in English
. He is a member of the Delta Upsilon
Fraternity and credits much of his accomplishments to his time at Keewaydin Canoe Camp for boys in Vermont
.
and CBS
, Barry Diller
at ABC
hired Eisner as Assistant to the National Programming Director. Eisner moved up the ranks, eventually becoming a senior vice president in charge of programming and development. In 1976, Diller, who had by then moved on to become chairman of Paramount Pictures
, recruited Eisner from ABC and made him president and CEO of the movie studio. During his tenure at Paramount, the studio turned out such hit films as Saturday Night Fever
, Grease
, the Star Trek
film franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark
, and Beverly Hills Cop
, and hit TV shows such as Happy Days
, Laverne & Shirley
, Cheers
and Family Ties
.
Diller left Paramount in 1984, and, as his protege, Eisner expected to assume Diller's position as studio chief. When he was passed over for the job, though, he left to look for work elsewhere and lobbied for the position of CEO of The Walt Disney Company.
's death in 1966, The Walt Disney Company had narrowly survived takeover attempts by corporate raiders. Its shareholders Sid Bass
and Roy E. Disney
brought in Eisner and former Warner Brothers chief Frank Wells to replace Ron W. Miller
in 1984 and strengthen the company.
During the second half of the 1980s and early 1990s, Disney revitalized. Beginning with The Little Mermaid
(1989), its flagship animation studio enjoyed a series of commercial and critical successes
. Disney also broadened its adult offerings in film when then Disney Studio Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg
acquired Miramax Films
in 1993. Disney acquired many other media sources, including ABC
and ESPN
.
During the early part of the 1990s, Eisner and his partners set out to plan "The Disney Decade" which was to feature new parks around the world, existing park expansions, new films, and new media investments. While some of the proposals were completed, most were not. Those completed included the Euro Disney Resort (now Disneyland Paris), Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios
), Disney's California Adventure Park, Disney-MGM Studios Paris (eventually opened in 2002 as Walt Disney Studios Park
), and various film projects including a Who Framed Roger Rabbit
franchise.
Wells died in a helicopter crash in 1994 (The Lion King
, which went on to become the most successful hand-drawn animated picture of all time, was dedicated to his memory). When Eisner did not appoint Katzenberg to Wells' now-available post, Katzenberg resigned and formed DreamWorks SKG with partners Steven Spielberg
and David Geffen
. Eisner then recruited his friend Michael Ovitz
, one of the founders of the Creative Artists Agency, to be President, with minimal involvement from Disney's board of directors
(which at the time included Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier
, the CEO of Hilton Hotels Corporation
Stephen Bollenbach
, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell
, Yale
dean Robert A. M. Stern
, and Eisner's predecessors Raymond Watson
and Card Walker). Ovitz lasted only 14 months and left Disney in December 1996 via a "no fault termination" with a severance package
of $38 million in cash and 3 million stock options worth roughly $100 million at the time of Ovitz's departure. The Ovitz episode engendered a long running derivative suit
, which finally concluded in June 2006, almost 10 years later. Chancellor William B. Chandler, III
of the Delaware Court of Chancery
, despite describing Eisner's behavior as falling "far short of what shareholders expect and demand from those entrusted with a fiduciary position..." found in favor of Eisner and the rest of the Disney board because they had not violated the letter of the law (namely, the duty of care
owed by a corporation's officers and board to its shareholders).
, the son of Disney co-founder Roy O. Disney
and nephew of Walt Disney
, resigned from his positions as Disney
vice chairman and chairman of Walt Disney Features. His reasons for resigning were micromanagement
flops with the ABC television network, timidity in the theme park business, the Walt Disney Company turning into a "rapacious, soul-less" company, refusal to establish a clear succession plan, as well as a string of box-office movie flops starting in the year 2000.
On March 3, 2004, at Disney's annual shareholders' meeting, a surprising and unprecedented 43% of Disney's shareholders, predominantly rallied by former board members Roy Disney and Stanley Gold
, withheld their proxies
to re-elect Eisner to the board. Disney's board then gave the chairmanship position to Mitchell. However, the board did not immediately remove Eisner as chief executive.
On March 13, 2005, Eisner announced that he would step down as CEO one year before his contract expired. On September 30, Eisner resigned both as an executive and as a member of the board of directors, and, severing all formal ties with the company, he waived his contractual rights to perks such as the use of a corporate jet and an office at the company's Burbank
headquarters. Eisner's replacement was his longtime assistant, Robert Iger.
and his ex-boss, Barry Diller
. Impressed with Eisner's performance, CNBC
President Mark Hoffman hired Eisner in early 2006 to host his own talk show, Conversations with Michael Eisner
. The show mostly features CEOs, political leaders, artists and actors. Eisner is also an executive producer of the show.
Eisner has recently invested in an Internet video distribution network named Veoh
Networks.
In March 2007, Eisner's investment firm, The Tornante Company, launched a studio, Vuguru
, that will produce and distribute videos for the Internet, portable media devices and cell phones. "The entire concept here is 'content is king'," Eisner said in an interview. "What will drive traffic is interest in the subject matter." Through these companies Eisner has acquired the rights to the internet series SamHas7Friends
. The first series produced by Vuguru is Prom Queen
, created by Big Fantastic
(the same team behind SamHas7Friends
), which launched on April 1, 2007. The second series produced by Eisner and Vuguru is The All-for-nots
(theallfornots.com), created by Thom Woodley and Kathleen Grace of The Burg (theburg.tv). It premiered March 11, 2008 at SXSW.
In October 2007, Eisner, through his Tornante Company investment firm, partnered with Madison Dearborn Partners in the acquisition of Topps Company
, the bubble-gum and collectibles firm. He produced a mockumentary
style show about his takeover of the Topps Company, called "Back on Topps." His studio Vuguru produced it, the episodes first aired exclusively with Fox Sports, and it is sponsored by Skype
. All episodes are currently available on hulu
The College of Education at California State University Northridge is named in his honor.
In 2009, Eisner used his own money to produce a claymation show called Glenn Martin, DDS
.
, Eric
and Anders Eisner, and two nephews, Alex Eisner and Fraser Thomson.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
from 1984 until 2005.
Early life
Eisner was born in Mount Kisco, New YorkMount Kisco, New York
Mount Kisco is a community that is both a village and a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Mount Kisco is coterminous with the village. The population was 10,877 at the 2010 census.- History :...
, the son of Margaret (née Dammann) and Lester Eisner, Jr. His great-grandfather, Sigmund Eisner
Sigmund Eisner
Sigmund Eisner was a prominent manufacturer and president of the Sigmund Eisner Company based in Red Bank, New Jersey. At one time , this company was the exclusive manufacturer of uniforms for the Boy Scouts of America and the largest manufacturer of uniforms in the United States...
, was one of the first uniform suppliers to the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. He was raised on Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He attended the Allen-Stevenson School
Allen-Stevenson School
Allen-Stevenson is a private boys elementary school located at 132 East 78th Street in New York City, New York.- History :The Allen School was founded in 1883 by Francis Bellows Allen at a home on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Its first class enrolled only three boys. In 1885, the school moved to...
kindergarten through ninth grade followed by The Lawrenceville School in tenth through his senior year and graduated from Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
in 1964 with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
. He is a member of the Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon is the sixth oldest international, all-male, college Greek-letter organization, and is the oldest non-secret fraternity in North America...
Fraternity and credits much of his accomplishments to his time at Keewaydin Canoe Camp for boys in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
ABC and Paramount
After two brief stints at NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
at ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
hired Eisner as Assistant to the National Programming Director. Eisner moved up the ranks, eventually becoming a senior vice president in charge of programming and development. In 1976, Diller, who had by then moved on to become chairman of Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, recruited Eisner from ABC and made him president and CEO of the movie studio. During his tenure at Paramount, the studio turned out such hit films as Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
, Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
, the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
film franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
, and Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American comedy-action film directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Ronny Cox...
, and hit TV shows such as Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
, Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
and Family Ties
Family Ties
Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
.
Diller left Paramount in 1984, and, as his protege, Eisner expected to assume Diller's position as studio chief. When he was passed over for the job, though, he left to look for work elsewhere and lobbied for the position of CEO of The Walt Disney Company.
Disney
Since Walt DisneyWalt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's death in 1966, The Walt Disney Company had narrowly survived takeover attempts by corporate raiders. Its shareholders Sid Bass
Sid Bass
Sid Richardson Bass is an American investor and businessman.-Life:He is a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Business School. His father, Perry Richardson Bass , built an oil fortune with uncle, Sid Richardson . Bass took control of the business in 1968. His investments include oil and gas...
and Roy E. Disney
Roy E. Disney
Roy Edward Disney, KCSG was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver Disney and his uncle Walt Disney founded. At the time of his death he was a shareholder , and served as a consultant for the company and Director Emeritus for the Board of Directors...
brought in Eisner and former Warner Brothers chief Frank Wells to replace Ron W. Miller
Ron W. Miller
Ronald William "Ron" Miller is a former professional American football player, the son-in-law of Walt Disney, and a former president and CEO of what is now The Walt Disney Company.-Marriage and early career:...
in 1984 and strengthen the company.
During the second half of the 1980s and early 1990s, Disney revitalized. Beginning with The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
(1989), its flagship animation studio enjoyed a series of commercial and critical successes
Disney Renaissance
The Disney Renaissance refers to an era beginning roughly in the late 1980s and ending in the late 1990s, during which Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films mostly based on stories that were known to many, restoring public and critical interest in Disney.The...
. Disney also broadened its adult offerings in film when then Disney Studio Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as chairman of The Walt Disney Company's film division, and for producing DreamWorks animated films such as Shrek, Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken...
acquired Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
in 1993. Disney acquired many other media sources, including ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
During the early part of the 1990s, Eisner and his partners set out to plan "The Disney Decade" which was to feature new parks around the world, existing park expansions, new films, and new media investments. While some of the proposals were completed, most were not. Those completed included the Euro Disney Resort (now Disneyland Paris), Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
), Disney's California Adventure Park, Disney-MGM Studios Paris (eventually opened in 2002 as Walt Disney Studios Park
Walt Disney Studios Park
Walt Disney Studios Park is the second theme park to open at Disneyland Paris, owned and operated by Euro Disney S.C.A.. It is located to the west of the hub, next door to Disneyland Park at the heart of the resort in Marne-la-Vallée....
), and various film projects including a Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
franchise.
Wells died in a helicopter crash in 1994 (The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, which went on to become the most successful hand-drawn animated picture of all time, was dedicated to his memory). When Eisner did not appoint Katzenberg to Wells' now-available post, Katzenberg resigned and formed DreamWorks SKG with partners Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
and David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
. Eisner then recruited his friend Michael Ovitz
Michael Ovitz
Michael S. Ovitz is an American talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as President of the Walt Disney Company from October 1995 to January 1997....
, one of the founders of the Creative Artists Agency, to be President, with minimal involvement from Disney's board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
(which at the time included Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
, the CEO of Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Worldwide is a global hospitality company. It is owned by the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm. As of July 2011 Hilton brands encompass 3,750 hotels with over 600,000 rooms in 84 countries...
Stephen Bollenbach
Stephen Bollenbach
Stephen F. Bollenbach is the nonexecutive chairman of Los Angeles based KB Homes. and a member of the board of diretors of Time Warner. He is also a director of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., Macy’s, Inc., and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Previously he was the Co-Chairman and Chief...
, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
, Yale
Yale School of Architecture
The Yale School of Architecture is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University. It is generally considered to be one of the most prestigious architecture schools in the world.- History :...
dean Robert A. M. Stern
Robert A. M. Stern
Robert Arthur Morton Stern, usually credited as Robert A. M. Stern, is an American architect and Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture....
, and Eisner's predecessors Raymond Watson
Raymond Watson
Raymond L. Watson was Chairman of Walt Disney Productions from 1983-1984, and served on the Disney Board from 1972 until March 2004. He was the former president of The Irvine Company, and served as chief planner for The Irvine Company during the 60s and 70s....
and Card Walker). Ovitz lasted only 14 months and left Disney in December 1996 via a "no fault termination" with a severance package
Severance package
A severance package is pay and benefits an employee receives when they leave employment at a company. In addition to the employee's remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following:* An additional payment based on months of service...
of $38 million in cash and 3 million stock options worth roughly $100 million at the time of Ovitz's departure. The Ovitz episode engendered a long running derivative suit
Derivative suit
A shareholder derivative suit is a lawsuit brought by a shareholder on behalf of a corporation against a third party. Often, the third party is an insider of the corporation, such as an executive officer or director. Shareholder derivative suits are unique because under traditional corporate law,...
, which finally concluded in June 2006, almost 10 years later. Chancellor William B. Chandler, III
William B. Chandler, III
William B. Chandler III is a former judge in the U.S. state of Delaware. He served on the Delaware Court of Chancery with the title of Chancellor....
of the Delaware Court of Chancery
Delaware Court of Chancery
The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the American state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court.-Jurisdiction:...
, despite describing Eisner's behavior as falling "far short of what shareholders expect and demand from those entrusted with a fiduciary position..." found in favor of Eisner and the rest of the Disney board because they had not violated the letter of the law (namely, the duty of care
Duty of care
In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be established to proceed with an action in negligence. The claimant...
owed by a corporation's officers and board to its shareholders).
"Save Disney" campaign and Eisner's ouster
In 2003, Roy E. DisneyRoy E. Disney
Roy Edward Disney, KCSG was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver Disney and his uncle Walt Disney founded. At the time of his death he was a shareholder , and served as a consultant for the company and Director Emeritus for the Board of Directors...
, the son of Disney co-founder Roy O. Disney
Roy O. Disney
Roy Oliver Disney was, with his younger brother, Walt Disney, the co-founder of what is now The Walt Disney Company.-Early life:...
and nephew of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
, resigned from his positions as Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
vice chairman and chairman of Walt Disney Features. His reasons for resigning were micromanagement
Micromanagement
In business management, micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of her or his subordinates or employees...
flops with the ABC television network, timidity in the theme park business, the Walt Disney Company turning into a "rapacious, soul-less" company, refusal to establish a clear succession plan, as well as a string of box-office movie flops starting in the year 2000.
On March 3, 2004, at Disney's annual shareholders' meeting, a surprising and unprecedented 43% of Disney's shareholders, predominantly rallied by former board members Roy Disney and Stanley Gold
Stanley Gold
Stanley Phillip Gold is President and CEO of Shamrock Holdings, Roy E. Disney's private investment company. He was on the Walt Disney Company's board of directors 1984; 1987-2003. He and Roy resigned to publicly campaign to oust then CEO and Chairman of the Board Michael Eisner. He also helped...
, withheld their proxies
Proxy voting
Proxy voting has two forms: delegable voting and delegated voting, which are procedures for the delegation to another member of a voting body of that member's power to vote in his absence, and/or for the selection of additional representatives, as in the case with transitive proxies...
to re-elect Eisner to the board. Disney's board then gave the chairmanship position to Mitchell. However, the board did not immediately remove Eisner as chief executive.
On March 13, 2005, Eisner announced that he would step down as CEO one year before his contract expired. On September 30, Eisner resigned both as an executive and as a member of the board of directors, and, severing all formal ties with the company, he waived his contractual rights to perks such as the use of a corporate jet and an office at the company's Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
headquarters. Eisner's replacement was his longtime assistant, Robert Iger.
Post-Disney
On October 7, 2005, Eisner hosted The Charlie Rose Show, filling in for Rose. His guests were John TravoltaJohn Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
and his ex-boss, Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
. Impressed with Eisner's performance, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
President Mark Hoffman hired Eisner in early 2006 to host his own talk show, Conversations with Michael Eisner
Conversations with Michael Eisner
Conversations with Michael Eisner is a one hour talk show that runs once a month on CNBC. The show is hosted by former Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner....
. The show mostly features CEOs, political leaders, artists and actors. Eisner is also an executive producer of the show.
Eisner has recently invested in an Internet video distribution network named Veoh
Veoh
Veoh is an Internet television company based in San Diego, California. It allows users to find and watch major studio content, independent productions and user-generated material. The company is a subsidiary of Israeli start-up Qlipso....
Networks.
In March 2007, Eisner's investment firm, The Tornante Company, launched a studio, Vuguru
Vuguru
Vuguru is an independent multi-platform studio founded by Tornante in March 2006. The studio's first project, "Prom Queen", consisted of 90-second shorts in 80 episodes and was distributed online, beginning in April 2007. A second project entitled "The All for Nots" was distributed online and on...
, that will produce and distribute videos for the Internet, portable media devices and cell phones. "The entire concept here is 'content is king'," Eisner said in an interview. "What will drive traffic is interest in the subject matter." Through these companies Eisner has acquired the rights to the internet series SamHas7Friends
SamHas7Friends
Sam Has 7 Friends was a 2006 web television series drama created, produced, and funded by the production company Big Fantastic and subsequently bought and distributed by the web TV studio Vuguru. The series appeared on YouTube, Revver, iTunes and its own web site. The show revolved around its...
. The first series produced by Vuguru is Prom Queen
Prom Queen (internet series)
Prom Queen is the first web television series produced by former Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner's new production company Vuguru and the returning web television production company Big Fantastic, the creators of Sam Has 7 Friends...
, created by Big Fantastic
Big Fantastic
Big Fantastic, LLC is a production company located in Santa Monica, California which creates, develops and produces online video entertainment. The company is currently most known for their two popular web series Sam Has 7 Friends and Prom Queen...
(the same team behind SamHas7Friends
SamHas7Friends
Sam Has 7 Friends was a 2006 web television series drama created, produced, and funded by the production company Big Fantastic and subsequently bought and distributed by the web TV studio Vuguru. The series appeared on YouTube, Revver, iTunes and its own web site. The show revolved around its...
), which launched on April 1, 2007. The second series produced by Eisner and Vuguru is The All-for-nots
All-for-nots
A Michael Eisner-produced web TV documentary-comedy, The All-For-Nots follows the ups and downs of an indie rock band touring on the road. It's being billed as "the band that will conquer the world wide web...unless they run out of gas"...
(theallfornots.com), created by Thom Woodley and Kathleen Grace of The Burg (theburg.tv). It premiered March 11, 2008 at SXSW.
In October 2007, Eisner, through his Tornante Company investment firm, partnered with Madison Dearborn Partners in the acquisition of Topps Company
Topps
The Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
, the bubble-gum and collectibles firm. He produced a mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
style show about his takeover of the Topps Company, called "Back on Topps." His studio Vuguru produced it, the episodes first aired exclusively with Fox Sports, and it is sponsored by Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
. All episodes are currently available on hulu
The College of Education at California State University Northridge is named in his honor.
In 2009, Eisner used his own money to produce a claymation show called Glenn Martin, DDS
Glenn Martin, DDS
Glenn Martin, DDS is an American stop-motion-animated television series that premiered on Nick at Nite on August 17, 2009. The series is produced by Tornante Animation in association with Cuppa Coffee Studio...
.
Personal life
From his marriage to Jane Breckenridge, he has three sons named BreckBreck Eisner
Michael "Breck" Eisner is an American television and film director.-Early life:Eisner was born Michael Eisner in California, the son of Jane Breckenridge, a business advisor and computer programmer, and Michael Eisner, the former Walt Disney Company chief executive...
, Eric
Eric Eisner
Eric Eisner is the son of Disney magnate Michael Eisner and a producer. He currently co-owns the film production company L+E Productions.-Career in Entertainment:...
and Anders Eisner, and two nephews, Alex Eisner and Fraser Thomson.
Further reading
- The Disney Touch: How a Daring Management Team Revived an Entertainment Empire by Ron Grover (Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1991), ISBN 1-55623-385-X
- DisneyWarDisneyWarDisneyWar is an exposé of Michael Eisner's 20-year tenure as Chairman and CEO at The Walt Disney Company by James B. Stewart. The book chronicles the careers and interactions of executives at Disney, including Card Walker, Ron W. Miller, Roy E...
by James B. StewartJames B. StewartJames Bennett Stewart is an American lawyer, journalist, and author.-Life and career:Stewart was born in Quincy, Illinois. A graduate of DePauw University and Harvard Law School, James B. Stewart is a member of the Bar of New York and Bloomberg Professor of Business and Economic Journalism at the...
, Simon & Schuster, 2005, ISBN 0-684-80993-1 - Work in Progress by Michael Eisner with Tony Schwartz (Random House, 1998), ISBN 978-0375500718
Books
- Work In Progress (1998) (ISBN 0-375-50071-5)
- Camp (2005) (ISBN 978-0446533690)
- Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed (2010) (ISBN 978-0-06-173236-2)
Awards and recognition
- 2001 Honor AwardHonor AwardThe National Building Museum promotes excellence in architecture, engineering, construction, planning, and design. In furtherance of that mission, the Museum instituted an annual Honor Award in 1986 to recognize individuals and organizations that have made important contributions to the U.S.'s...
from the National Building MuseumNational Building MuseumThe National Builders Museum, in Washington, D.C., United States, is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning"... - 2004 UJA-Federation of New York's Steven J. Ross Humanitarian of the Year Award
- Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
in 2008
External links
- Official site MichaelEisner.com
- CNBC show official site with videos and transcripts Conversations with Michael Eisner
- Eisner Foundation
- Archive of American Television interview
- Michael Eisner's Interview on Plum