Iger Named President of Walt Disney Co., Joins Board of Directors; Murphy, Staggs Elevated; Eisner Will Form Executive Management Committee.

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BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2000

Robert A. Iger has been named president and chief operating officer of The Walt Disney Co. as well as a member of its board of directors, it was announced today by Michael D. Eisner, chairman and chief executive officer.

Iger had been chairman of the Disney-owned ABC Group and president of Walt Disney International, Disney's overseas business unit.

Eisner today also announced the promotion of Chief Strategic Officer Peter E. Murphy and Chief Financial Officer Thomas O. Staggs, to the positions of senior executive vice presidents, and said that he is forming an Executive Management Committee made up of himself, Iger, Vice Chairman Sanford M. Litvack, Murphy, Staggs and the company's business-unit heads.

&uot;Bob Iger is recognized as a leader in the communications and entertainment industries,&uot; Eisner said. &uot;I believe his experience and expertise will prove instrumental in helping to guide our company to seize new opportunities.

&uot;Bob not only helped build the ABC television network into a market leader, but was also instrumental in the company's expansion into cable programming, with such initiatives as ESPN, A&, E!, The History Channel and Lifetime. As a result, when Disney acquired Capital Cities/ABC, we added a collection of assets that strengthened Disney and which continue to increase in value and contribute to the growth of the company.

&uot;Since the acquisition, Bob has played a key role in guiding the integration of ABC into the Disney organization. In the past year, he has overseen the ABC Television Network's turnaround, powered by such breakthrough programming as `Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' `ABC 2000,' `The Drew Carey Show' and `The Practice,' and the implementation of new business strategies.

&uot;At the same time, Bob has spearheaded the reorganization of our company's international efforts as the president of Walt Disney International. As a result, our entire company is now poised for growth in the opportunity-laden overseas markets, while ABC has just posted solid results, having concluded a quarter in which its TV network brought in a record $1 billion in advertising revenues.

&uot;The acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC helped transform Disney from purely an entertainment company into a wide-ranging entertainment, media and Internet company. Bob has been instrumental in successfully effecting this transformation.

&uot;I now look forward to working closely with him and the rest of our key management team in formulating and implementing strategies that will take advantage of the unique and extensive strengths of The Walt Disney Co.&uot;

Commenting on Murphy and Staggs, Eisner said: &uot;Peter and Tom are extremely talented, insightful and accomplished executives, and both have made huge contributions to Disney during their careers. They are an unparalleled team, and I will continue to call on them to work with me and Bob to improve the performance of the company and develop new growth initiatives.&uot;

All of Disney's business-unit heads and Murphy now will report to Eisner and Iger. Vice Chairmen Roy E. Disney and Litvack will continue to report directly to Eisner, as will Staggs.

Regarding the formation of the Executive Management Committee, Eisner said that it &uot;will provide the necessary communication and efficiency among our executive-staff members as Disney grows globally, and will better enable us to generate ideas, identify and move on opportunities and quickly implement strategies.&uot;

Said Iger: &uot;Since becoming a Disney executive at the time of the Capital Cities/ABC merger, I have grown to fully appreciate the strength and value of the Disney brand and the opportunities that it presents for the company worldwide.

&uot;There is tremendous growth potential for The Walt Disney Co., and I look forward to working with Michael and the organization's talented executives to help the company create great value for our shareholders in the years ahead.

&uot;Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to work closely with Sandy Litvack and other members of Michael's team, including Peter Murphy and Tom Staggs, and I am honored to work with these strong and highly skilled individuals.&uot;

Iger joined ABC in 1974 as a studio supervisor and rose through a series of increasingly responsible management positions. He spent 12 years with ABC Sports, where he became vice president of programming.

Later, he became president of ABC Entertainment in Los Angeles and then president of the ABC Television Network Group. He was elected president and chief operating officer and a board member of Capital Cities/ABC in 1994. In that capacity, he was responsible for all operating divisions. At the time of the merger with Disney, he had been designated the next CEO of Capital Cities/ABC.

Murphy has served as executive vice president and chief strategic officer since May 1998, with responsibility for strategic analysis, business development and long-term planning for the growth of Disney's global businesses.

He joined Disney's Strategic Planning department in 1988 as a senior planning analyst and advanced through a series of positions with increasing responsibilities, becoming a senior vice president of strategic planning and development in 1995.

In 1997, he became senior vice president and chief financial officer for ABC Inc., after having been one of the key architects of Disney's acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC and the integration of the two organizations. Before joining Disney, Murphy was an executive with Strategic Planning Associates, a strategy consulting firm.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a master of business administration degree from the Wharton School of Business.

Staggs has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer since May 1998, with responsibility for the company's worldwide finance organization, investor relations, treasury activities, information systems and taxes.

Staggs joined Disney in 1990 as a manager of strategic planning and soon advanced through a series of positions with increasing responsibilities, becoming senior vice president of strategic planning and development in 1995. He played a key role in various Disney strategic joint ventures and corporate transactions, including the acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC.

He also was the chief architect of Disney's Internet strategy, engineering Disney's acquisition of Starwave and its investment in Infoseek, and structuring and negotiating the combination of Disney's Internet business with Infoseek under a new class of Disney tracking stock.

Since becoming CFO, Staggs has led the company's efforts to improve its cost efficiencies and increase its focus on improving cash flow and returns on invested capital.

Staggs received a bachelor of science degree in business from the University of Minnesota and a master of business administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.