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The Disneyland Report > Disney News > Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner steps down after 21 years defined by successes, turmoil Disney NewsWalt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner steps down after 21 years defined by successes, turmoilThe Disneyland Report Staff Michael Eisner, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, ended a 21-year term Friday as leader of the entertainment giant.
Eisner has presided over one of the biggest growth periods of the Walt Disney Company and is certainly one of the most influential people in the history of the entertainment company. Facing pressure to step down, Eisner had declared that he would leave his post on September 30, 2005, a year earlier than he had planned. Michael Eisner has been celebrated for both his early creative expansion as well as criticized for his later reactionary reluctance. A major figure in the growing concept of the “celebrity CEO,” Eisner expanded an animation company with a few theme parks into an entertainment powerhouse with a diverse portfolio including television networks, Broadway productions, cruise ships, and an internet group. Eisner oversaw a new golden age of the animated musical with hits such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. He also expanded the Disney theme park franchise around the world, including Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened earlier this month. He also added hotels and more theme parks, creating multi-day resort destinations. However, in recent years, Eisner has been criticized for his new reluctance to spend too much on new creative ventures and risks, preferring to stay with well-established and guaranteed revenue streams, such as direct-to-video sequels, which are profitable and cheaper to make, or less-developed theme parks such as Disney’s California’s Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in California, Walt Disney Studios in Disneyland Resort Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. All of those parks have been criticized for having too few attractions, with some being off-the-shelf or mere reproductions of other parks’ rides instead of the well-themed and new experiences Disney theme parks had become famous for. Eisner has also had public spats with leaders of Miramax and Pixar, fracturing or ending lucrative partnerships due to personal differences. The Disney CEO even faced a crisis in his own position when dissident shareholders Roy Disney and Stanley Gold launched the Save Disney campaign to oust Eisner from the Walt Disney Company. The movement raised much publicity, but Eisner’s declaration that he would step down rendered the Save Disney movement no longer relevant and Disney and Gold reconciled with the Walt Disney Company. Bob Iger now takes over the Walt Disney Company as CEO, and although Iger was hand-picked by Eisner, analysts and critics are encouraged by a new leader with a new style to take the Walt Disney Company into the coming years. Return to Disney News.
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