NEW YORK - Robert Iger, the company insider tapped as the next chief executive of the Walt Disney Co., faces a daunting task in heading up a broad media entertainment firm in a rapidly changing landscape.
The media entertainment behemoth Sunday announced it was picking an internal executive to replace the long-serving Eisner who has reigned as the magic kingdom`s CEO since 1984.
Iger, 54, has been president and chief operating officer (COO), was unanimously chosen to lead the company. He will officially take on his new role on September 30.
Analysts who cover the entertainment giant were generally positive.
Laura Martin of Soleil/Media Metrics said the news was good for the company.
"After 30 years as (the number two executive) under several demanding and performance-oriented bosses, Iger brings to Disney a vision different from Eisner`s but steeped in Disney culture," she said in a note to clients.
"Iger will be able to hit the ground running. He knows the Disney system -- and knows who he needs in order to get things done."
Goldman Sachs called Iger`s appointment "a net positive reinforcing our already bullish view" and reiterated Goldman`s "outperform" rating on the news.
But critics of Eisner said the move to tap his hand-picked successor falls short of what is needed to turn around the fortunes of the company.
Roy Disney, nephew of company founder Walt Disney who led a shareholder drive to oust Eisner last year, expressed disappointment.
"We find it incomprehensible that the Board of Directors of Disney failed to find a single external candidate interested in the job and thus handed Bob Iger the job by default," Roy Disney said in a joint statement with fellow shareholder Stanley Gold.
"The need for the Walt Disney Company to have a clean break from the prior regime and to change the leadership culture has been glaringly obvious to everyone except this board ... Shareholders should seriously consider replacing this board and starting anew."
Iger has been president of the media giant since 2000 and was an executive at Capital Cities/ABC Inc. -- the television and publishing group -- before Disney bought it in 1996.
The board had hired a search firm to recruit external candidates, but found it difficult to attract people due to Eisner`s support for Iger, according to reports.
One high-profile exec who was under consideration, eBay CEO Meg Whitman, withdrew her name on Friday.
The board stripped Eisner of his chairman title last March, under intense shareholder pressure, leaving that post to former US senator George Mitchell.
Iger, know as "Bob" at Disney, will take the helm of one of the world`s best-known companies which spans Hollywood studios, television and cable networks, theme parks, cruise ships and toys.
The new CEO will also preside over a corporate empire that employs thousands of workers and is currently constructing an 11th theme park in Hong Kong.
Iger started his career in entertainment some 30 years ago as a studio supervisor in New York, before moving to ABC Sports where he toiled for 12 years.
After rising through the ranks at ABC Sport, he eventually became a senior manager of the ABC television network in 1988, before being anointed ABC president and COO in 1994.
He became part of the Disney family just two years later, when Disney acquired Capital Cities/ABC and has held his current titles with the group since 2000.
03/14/2005 17:55 GMT