DISNEY'S EISNER WOOING INVESTORS; COMPANY'S CEO TAKES MESSAGE TO THE STREET.Byline: Geraldine Fabrikant The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Meet the new Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) was CEO of The Walt Disney Company from September 22, 1984 to September 30, 2005. Early life Michael Eisner was born to a wealthy family in Mt. Kisco, New York, and raised on Park Avenue in Manhattan. . Gone is the old aloofness that critics saw as arrogance. As Eisner, the chairman of Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. struggles to overcome sagging earnings and the fallout from his feud with his former studio chief, Jeffrey Katzenberg, he has suddenly begun playing Mr. Nice Guy. He is wooing Wall Street with uncharacteristic eagerness and even sounds contrite con·trite adj. 1. Feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses; penitent. 2. Arising from or expressing contrition: contrite words. when discussing his put-down put·down or put-down n. Slang 1. A dismissal or rejection, especially in the form of a critical or slighting remark: "Such answers were, perhaps still are, a . . . of Katzenberg as a ``midget.'' And like a child watching a scary scene in a Disney animated movie, he is praying for a happy ending. ``Maybe this is like a Disney fairy tale fairy tale Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings. Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages ,'' Eisner said in an interview at Disney headquarters in Burbank. ``All's well that ends well. The truth will win out.'' Alas, this is no fairy tale - it is the fight of Eisner's 15-year Disney career. Yet he isn't really expecting a Prince Charming to ride to his rescue. Rather, the kinder face he wears these days for the outside world is the public-relations gloss he is putting on a very methodical plan he hopes will turn Disney around. He has little time to lose. After 13 years of growth, earnings fell last year and are expected to slip more this year. Disney's stock has slumped by about a third from its 1998 high of just over $42. It closed Tuesday at $28.50. The company's ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. network is floundering, and its huge capital-spending program has yet to pay off. And to Wall Street's dismay, Eisner continues to reign without an heir in TALZIE, HEIR IN. Scotch law. Heirs of talzie or tailzie, are heirs of estates entailed. 1 Bell's Com. 47. the wings. Eisner, clearly unhappy at being on the defensive, played down Disney's plight. ``There are highs and lows,'' he said. ``This is a flat period. We have had 14 years of not-flat periods. No one is used to it.'' For all his public optimism, Eisner is scrambling to get Disney back on track. His strategy: streamline operations, sell nonstrategic assets and get spending down. Earlier this month, industry executives said the company had decided to sell Fairchild Publications, its magazine division, for an estimated $650 million. Rumors swirled that Disney was considering selling its Anaheim Mighty Ducks hockey team and the Anaheim Angels baseball team. And Walt Disney International President Robert Iger has been put in charge of realigning overseas operations to better integrate Disney's businesses. ``The company is making the right moves, but it may take more than a year before Disney is back on its growth track,'' said David Londoner, who has long followed Disney for Schroder Inc. |
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