Disney Promotes Iger

files/pictures/picture-35.jpgOn January 24, 2000, Robert A. Iger was named president and chief operating

officer of The Walt Disney Co. as well as a member of its board of

directors. Previously, Iger served as chairman of the Disney-owned ABC

Group and president of Walt Disney International, Disney's overseas

business division. Michael Eisner, Walt Disney's chairman and CEO, 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. The

Executive Management Committee will help provide a more efficient

communication line among Disney's executive-staff members and will serve as

a nucleus to generate new ideas. Joining ABC in 1974, Iger started as a

studio supervisor and rose through a series of increasingly responsible

management positions. He spent 12 years with ABC Sports, where he became VP

of programming. Later, Iger became president of ABC Entertainment in Los

Angeles and then president of the ABC Television Network Group. In 1994, he

was elected president, COO and board member of Capital Cities/ABC. In that

position, he was responsible for all operating divisions. At the time of

the ABC/Disney merger, he had been named the next CEO of Capital

Cities/ABC. "Bob Iger is recognized as a leader in the communications and

entertainment industries," Eisner said. "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, 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. 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." Murphy has served as executive vice president and

chief strategic officer since May 1998. His responsibilities were 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 players in Disney's acquisition of Capital

Cities/ABC and the integration of the two companies. Since May 1998, Staggs

has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer, with

responsibility for the company's worldwide finance organization, investor

relations, treasury activities, information systems and taxes. Joining

Disney in 1990 as a manager of strategic planning, Staggs soon advanced

through a series of positions, 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. Staggs also served as 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.