Several Shoes Still to Drop as Disney Seeks Stability

LOS ANGELES (NY Times) – When Robert A. Iger takes the stage at the Walt Disney Company's annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., this Friday, things will be calmer than they have been for some time. But Mr. Iger, Disney's new chief executive, still has plenty of big issues to grapple with: figuring out the role of Steven P. Jobs in the company; finding a new Disney chairman and reorganizing the movie studio. Investors applauded the announcement that Mr. Jobs, the chief executive of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, would become a board director once Disney's acquisition of Pixar is completed as soon as this summer. And already Mr. Jobs and John Lasseter, Pixar's chief creative officer, are making their presence felt. They have expressed a desire to become more involved in how Disney sells toys, games and other consumer products related to animated films, according to Disney executives. In recent years, Disney's consumer productions division, which is run by Andrew P. Mooney, has focused more on selling toys that are not tied to movie releases. (One success along those lines has been Disney Princess dresses and tiaras.) This was done in part because retailers were burned when they bought toys based on Disney animated movies that bombed, most notably "Treasure Planet" in 2002. Now Mr. Jobs wants the consumer products division to focus more on marketing toys related to animated films, particularly Pixar's, said the executives. Among those films would be "Ratatouille," the Pixar movie about rats living in a Parisian restaurant, coming in the summer of 2007. Mr. Jobs is known for taking a hands-on approach at companies in which he has a financial stake. When asked in January how he would resist the temptation to tinker at Disney, he said, "I haven't directed the movies" at Pixar. But, he added, "I don't know what I'll be doing at Disney." There has been speculation that Mr. Jobs might be named Disney chairman when George J. Mitchell resigns that post at the end of the year. Two people apprised of the merger talks said Mr. Jobs had said he would not seek the chairman's job. But few on Wall Street expect the new chairman to be chosen from the directors already on Disney's board. A Disney spokeswoman declined to comment on the search for a new chairman. But last December, the board could not decide on who should succeed Mr. Mitchell, and he was asked to remain until the end of 2006. The board could still recruit a new director to be chairman.

Once a chairman is named, Mr. Iger may decide whether to name a Disney president. He has said he is in no hurry to do so. Still, since Mr. Iger was named chief executive, Thomas O. Staggs, Disney's chief financial officer and an Iger loyalist, has seen his influence at the company grow. Not only has he taken on authority over Disney's strategic planning division, but he is integrally involved in overseeing the coordination of Pixar and Disney's animation divisions. "I don't think Bob needs a president at this point," said Michael G. Nathanson, a media analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company. "But if he did it today, it would probably be Tom." While much has been made of the acquisition of Pixar, Disney's animation division is not the only film unit preparing for an overhaul. Last fall Mr. Iger told Richard W. Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, that the studio had to re-examine its business plan, according to several people told of those discussions. In 2004, Disney's live-action movie division had a string of misses. And in 2005, Disney fell to No. 5 in domestic box-office market share – bringing in $1 billion – down from No. 1 in 2003, when it brought in $1.5 billion. Many within Disney said they believed the company would lay off as many as 100 people in the live-action division last year. But studio executives persuaded Mr. Iger to delay the personnel cuts, they said. Instead the studio is to embark on a reorganization this year as it undergoes a long-term strategic review of its production, home video and marketing units.