Tomorrow night, Roy Disney will be honored by the Philadelphia Film Festival, receiving that event’s prestigious Inspiration Award. As part of this event, Mr. Disney will join noted film historian Leonard Maltin on stage at the Prince Music Theater. Where Leonard will then interview Roy, asking this Disney Legend to look back over his lengthy career.
I wonder if Maltin — as he’s walking Walt’s nephew through the high points of his life — will dare to bring up the last time that Roy was in Philadelphia. You know, when Disney led that shareholders revolt at the 2004 annual meeting? Which resulted in Michael Eisner being stripped of his chairman’s title by Disney’s board of directors.
Back then, at a press conference immediately following this historic corporate gathering (Where 43% of Disney shareholders withheld their vote for Eisner’s re-election to the board), Roy and his co-hort from Shamrock Holdings Stanley Gold were downright giddy. These two seemed supremely confident that Disney’s CEO was now on his way out. And it would only be a matter of time ’til Michael was on the outside and Roy & Stanley were back on the inside, remaking the Magic Kingdom in their own image.
Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold (L to R)
Photo by Nancy Stadler
But that’s not exactly what happened. While it’s true that Michael Eisner did step down as the head of the Walt Disney Company in September of 2005 (A full year ahead of when he was originally supposed to), Disney & Gold never did get the chance to play kingmakers. In the end, Disney’s board of directors opted to go with Michael’s hand-picked successor — then-company president Bob Iger.
And Iger … You gotta give this guy props. Even before he officially assumed control at the Mouse House, Bob was able to successfully broker a deal with Roy & Stanley. Getting these two to abandon a pending pair of lawsuits as well as agree not to run an alternate slate of directors for the Walt Disney Company for at least five years.
And what did Disney get in return for agreeing to Iger’s terms? Roy was named a Director Emeritus of the Walt Disney Company.
“And what sort of power comes with a title like that?,” you query. To be honest, not a whole lot. Oh, sure. In his new role as a consultant for the company that his father & uncle started back in 1923, Disney was now able to push through a number of pet projects. Like launching Walt Disney’s Legacy Collection, which finally made the studio’s acclaimed True-Life Adventures films available for purchase on DVD.
And his new title did entitle Roy to some special recognition at last month’s annual meeting. After Disney’s new chairman John E. Pepper Jr. had introduced the company’s board of directors, Pepper then made a point of saying …
… I’m also pleased today to be able to introduce an Emeritus Director, whose name you know well. Who served on the board for 19 years. I’m referring to Roy Disney. Roy, would you please stand? Good to have you with us.
And Roy then stood up and waved to all the shareholders seated in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
But in spite of all of these recent attempts at pretending that fences are mended and there are no hard feelings, there was one telling moment at last month’s meeting. It occurred just minutes before officials wrapped up the question & answer portion of that corporate gathering. And though this was a relatively short exchange between a Disney shareholder and the company’s chairman & CEO, it spoke volumes in regards to the Mouse House’s continuing sense of awkwardness about how it should be dealing with Roy E. Disney.
It all started out innocently enough. With this shareholder stepping up to the mic and introducing himself …
Michael King: My name’s Michael King. I’m from the Alabama Gulf Coast. I am just a lowly shareholder. First and foremost, Mr. Iger and Mr. Pepper, I want to thank you for the hour and 20 minute entertaining presentation. I enjoyed it very much and I do firmly believe that the health of the company can be gauged more on the future of the company than on the past numbers. So to see where we’re going was very, very helpful.
My question is are there any plans to add anyone either to the board or to the company in general in a leadership position of any member of the Disney family?
John E. Pepper, Jr. Chairman of the Walt Disney Company
Copyright 2007 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
John E. Pepper, Jr. : The question … Coming onto the board as a member of the Disney family?
Michael King: Are there any plans to add either in a position of leadership or to — as a member of the board — someone from the Disney family?
John E. Pepper, Jr. : No. We’re really not looking at a member of the Disney family per se. We are constantly looking at how we can strengthen the board and renew it. And the characteristics there we’re looking for — I’m sure – are the ones you’d expect. Visionary. We’re looking for youth. We’re looking for diversity. We’re looking for people who can help the whole creative process and the business process. So that’s a constant subject.
And as I may have mentioned, you know, you reach my age and spend 40 years at Procter & Gamble, you’ve been on a lot of boards. And seen a lot of boards. And I just … I’d say to you this is a great board. I’ve been on some wonderful boards. This is as good a board as I’ve ever seen in terms of its diversity.
Of course, we’ve got … Steve Jobs has come on the board as a result of the Pixar acquisition. That’s a dose of creativity, I can assure you. So it’s very good. But we’ll continue to look at renewing it. The Disney family is not a particular criteria. Even though it’s just wonderful to have Roy Disney with us here today as a representative of the family …
Michael King: Please don’t misconstrue. You guys are doing a great job. I just thought if someone should be able to carry on Walt’s vision, that would be nice …
John E. Pepper, Jr. : Yeah. An interesting thought. Thank you very much. Station 2, please?
Which should have been the end of it. But Bob Iger — sensing that the company’s new chairman of the board may have unintentionally said something that might upset the Disney faithful and/or given the business press an intriguing new issue to poke at — quickly chimed in from his side of the stage.
Bob Iger : We introduced Roy Disney earlier as a Director Emeritus. Roy’s also a consultant to the company, has an office at the company, spends a fair amount of time on the Disney lot in Burbank and is welcome in a number of our processes and has interaction with a number of the people that are helping make this company what it is today. It’s nice to have him around.
And with Pepper’s unintentional gaffe now effectively defused, the meeting moved on.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
But even so … That can’t have been easy for Roy E. Disney to hear. That the creative legacy of his father & uncle’s company was now entrusted to a group of people who didn’t feel that the corporation needed to maintain any ties to the Disney family. More importantly, that the executives who are now in charge of the Mouse House still feel like they have to walk on egg shells whenever they’re around Walt’s nephew.
But given everything that’s going on in Roy’s life these days (I.E. His filing for divorce from his wife of 52 years plus Disney’s recent unretirement from competitive yachting) … One wonders if Walt’s nephew has grown beyond caring about stuff like this. That this 77-year-old has far too much on his plate right now to worry about unintended corporate slights and/or give much thought to how things in the past didn’t work out as well as Roy may have originally hoped.
That said … I’d still dearly love to know what Roy E. Disney is thinking right about now, as he makes his way back to Philadelphia this weekend. To the city where — just three years ago — it seemed like he & Stanley Gold were about to retake control of the Magical Kingdom. Only to then have this corporate fairy tale play out in a very different way.
Your thoughts?