We support Roy E. Disney

To:  Board of Directors, Walt Disney Company

We, the undersigned, have initiated this petition to signal our support of Roy E. Disney in his endeavor to remove Michael Eisner from the position he now holds as CEO of the Walt Disney Company.
On November 30th, 2003 Mr. Disney submitted his letter of resignation to Mr. Eisner and the Board of Directors. In his letter, he addressed many of the difficulties now facing the company, and held Mr. Eisner to account for his poor leadership and lack of vision. He gave credit where it was due, and commended Mr. Eisner on a successful first decade at the helm. He also noted that in the nine years since Frank Wells died, the company has languished, with no focus or direction. He gave seven examples of poor leadership, which are as follows:

(excerpt from Mr. Disney's letter of resignation; addressing Mr. Eisner)
1). "The failure to bring back ABC Prime Time from the ratings abyss it has been in for years and your inability to program successfully the ABC Family Channel. Both of these failures have had, and I believe will continue to have, significant adverse impact on shareholder value.
2). Your consistent micro-management of everyone around you with the resulting loss of morale throughout the Company.
3). The timidity of your investments in our theme park business. At Disney's California Adventure, Paris and now in Hong Kong, you have tried to build parks "on the cheap" and they show it and the attendance figures reflect it.
4). The perception by all of our stakeholders-- consumers, investors, employees, distributors and suppliers-- that the Company is rapacious , soul-less, and always looking for the "quick buck" rather than long-term value which is leading to a loss of public trust.
5). The creative brain drain of the last several years, which is real and continuing, and damages our Company with the loss of every talented employee.
6). Your failure to establish and build constructive relationships with creative partners, especially Pixar, Miramax, and the cable companies distributing our products.
7). Your consistent refusal to establish a clear succession plan."

He concluded his statement with the observation that he should not be the one to leave, and we believe Mr. Disney to be absolutely correct in this assertion; indeed, Mr. Eisner should be the one departing the Walt Disney Company. Mr. Disney has exhibited a deep understanding of what makes the Disney Company so special for so many of us; he is a true Disney. We applaud his taking such a bold stand in the battle for the heart and soul of the Walt Disney Company, and we believe he will prevail. We are deeply grateful and very, very proud of Mr. Disney, and we shall continue to support him in every way possible.

To find out more about Roy Disney's position and how you can help keep the magic at Disney, log in to savedisney.com Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The We support Roy E. Disney Petition to Board of Directors, Walt Disney Company was created by and written by Wendy La Gasse-Anderson (toribeth724@comcast.net).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.