Found a replacement for Eisner!

[HyperTyper]

I believe I've stumbled upon a perfect fit for the chief Disney seat and replacement for Michael Eisner: David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue. USA Today has an in-depth look at him:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2002/2002-10-08-jetblue-ceo.htm

And another from my local paper:

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,410015914,00.html

What makes him a great fit:

- Has founded multiple airlines, all of them successful

- Is familiar with the travel industry, and interacts regularly with the travelling public

- Does not blame Sept. 11 2001 for failure. Instead, JetBlue's success continues virtually uninterrupted ... the envy of the industry.

- Respects (and has the respect of) his subordinates and fellow executives

- Doesn't mind jumping head-first into a new job

- Family-man background entirely compatible with Disney's core principles: Family-friendly entertainment

- He has a reputation for creativity and not prone to ruts in thinking

- He has a sense of balancing thrift and cost-management with quality and the extra touches of class that makes life pleasant (if not extravagant) for the customer / guest

- He's a hands-on manager without being a micro-manager

As always, there are some potential (though, I feel, minor) downsides:

- Neeleman doesn't seem to have much entertainment / media experience. But he installed live TV on his aircraft. But he's a fast learner. And managing an entertainment studio is requires more business than entertainment acumen anyway. Disney is really a multi-industry corporation now, anyway.

- He has a pattern of starting new companies rather than going to work for established ones.

- It's uncertain if he could be coaxed to leave JetBlue to someone else, or how long he would stay at a new job. (Of course, the way things are going, JetBlue may be in a position to take-over Disney before long!)


This is the man for the job. He's no lightweight. Under Neeleman, Disney would:

- Return to its core business and expertise: Wholesome family entertainment for all ages

- Be thrifty, yet classy

- Provide, as does JetBlue, a high-quality product / experience without gouging guests

- Return high standards and high morale with company operations and employees

- Have a leader who promotes confidence, responsibility, efficiency, creativity, teamwork and respect for the public

Could anyone be a better fit?????? I think not. Take a look, keep an eye on him, and spread the word. Neeleman's the man!!!!

[Iceman]

Although I don't think Michael's going anywhere imminently, I admire your open-minded approach to searching out a successor!

In this case, though, I think you've found what can only be described as a bad fit. This guy's been successful in the airline business, but he's kind of a fruitcake. I can't imagine Disney, with a long-established corporate culture that's a bit stuffy, tolerating a CEO who darts off to buy a watch on a whim. He also sounds a little TOO religious ("Would you like some Mormon literature, Roy?"). Finally, some of your positives you listed are inferred but not explicit in those articles. It sounds to me like he's quite the micro-manager actually, calling subordinates late at night and wanting an e-mail every time a plane is late.

[Morrigoon]

I like a lot of the characteristics in this man (and I think Walt was one to run off on crazy tangents too!).

However, his involvement in the LDS church is very strong, and I wonder how the church elders would feel about him running a company that has so many policies favorable to gay employees. I would not like to see him pressured into reversing them. Neither would I want to see him come under fire from his church for NOT reversing them.

[HyperTyper]

Very interesting points you both offer.

Yes, some my references were not clear in the articles, but Neeleman has been closely watched in my area ... he's from here. My personal thoughts were based on what I've heard of him for several years.

I wouldn't worry about the Mormon thing. Gay lifestyles are certainly frowned-on, but gay people still have to work. Disney employs a lot of Mormons too, anyway. The clean-cut young Mormon and Disney employee images been quite compatible. The church doesn't micromanage its members' businesses. The Marriott family is Mormon. Their hotels are open on Sunday, serve coffee (and alcohol?), and have 'adult' TV in their rooms. (Not especially pleased with that last one, but what can you do?) However, I do believe any number of people, Mormon and otherwise (Walt included), would be eager to clean-up the violence, profanity and sexuality in some of Disney's films.

Walt Disney was a micromanger. I think, in some ways, that's where Eisner has done *some* good. Disney had his quirks, too. And you can bet more than one person called him a 'fruitcake.' I can't escape the fact that Neeleman has an astounding batting average in business, and his crew likes and works well with him, despite his quirks. That's no small accomplishment for an executive.

If you find someone better, let me know. Always interested in alternatives to Eisner. Eisner is better-suited for AOL, where his acquisition talents would be more useful.

Other suggestions? Martha Stewart, maybe? That's one for another thread: Martha in the Mouse House (assuming she stays out of the 'big' house)! Ha ha!!!

[ErikBsandiego]

Heritic time.....

First and foremost they need a CEO who is able to delegate well....because Disney's chief challenge is managing a sale of assets Mikie boy bought dear (and now the company needs to sell cheap). As widely reported, they are overbuilt by at least 5,000 rooms at WDW. Figuring out a way to deal with that problem alone is going to be a challenge since the sale could threaten to introduce new price competition within the boundaries of WDW. But they also have to figure out a way to deal ABC, sell the sports teams, and
manage what is starting to be a built out themepark empire (i.e. no natural global markets left to expand into). Add to the mix Mikies horrible entry into cable land and the running out of disney DVD/Video money printing opportunities and you have a real challenge in terms of CEOs.

Unfortunately, that all said the main CEO's you have in the marketplace today have gained reputation and positions by thriving in an era where acquisition was the name of the game and the main way to fuel earnings. In the mid-term the Mouse needs someone capable of managing mature enterprises (the theme parks, the film studio, the merchandise) while shedding the parts that don't fit well (Espn, ABC, the sports teams, the cable networks).

Now instead of bashing Mikie completely I will admit that he really helped expand the global reach of the brand.

[Iceman]

Yikes! Call me a believer in synergy, but I do NOT think that Disney needs to unload all of those assets. The sports teams, yes, but not ESPN or the other broadcast/production properties.

Same thing with the hotel rooms at WDW. They're only overbuilt because the economy is slow. Selling now at bargain basement prices would be the dumbest thing they could do, because once things rebound they'd have permananently lost valuable assets.

Finally, the global market is hardly tapped out for theme park expansion. South America pops immediately to mind, but there are plenty of other places to take the Disney brand. Disney Vacation Club by itself could become the world's largest time-share if they build and/or snatch up quality properties.

[ErikBsandiego]

Espn ....I am unconvinced it has "brand" appeal that works. The ESPN zones work "OK" but not sure you are "getting" anything different at those than any other top quality sports bar.

Hotel rooms - Anytime a resort has to mouthball 5000 rooms and, during slow times, close down another 2-3,000 it probably means that they have overbuilt supply. Does anyone know the latest released numbers on vacency rates and average room rates at WDW? My guess is that it will show a softness pre-9/11. Note too the need to shut down the disney institute in reponse.

Vacation Club - While time shares can be extremely profitable it is a very competitive market with a number of resort operators (Marriott the most notable but also Hilton and Hyatt) making major investments. My own belief is that this isn't a major long term play for the company; good for WDW but not something they can build into a business unit that can directly take on the biggest operators.

ABC - the rub is that exploiting the products that generate ratings can seriously erode the themepark brand (Mikie - "I know, a "the bachelor's dark ride in the old sub lagoon"). Likewise, while I am sure that "who wants to be a millionaire" is fun to play, my wife and I are NOT making that a top priority on saturday when we go visit DCA. There are some advantages the other way - using the network to soft advertise for other disney properties. Interestingly, I saw more coverage about the opening of Flicks on NBC/CBS affiliates in San Diego than I did on our own ABC station. Finally, with the disney channel the company already has an outlet for disney film/tv properties.

As a shareholder what I hope is that the company gets back to focused on basics where they compete for market share in two key realms - 1) Family vacation dollars 2) Family movie dollars. They can dominate those markets if they want to with the basic structure Mike set in place.