| Disney Shareholder Meeting is Low-Key
In contrast to the Philadelphia rebellion of one year ago, Walt Disney Co.'s annual stockholder meeting Friday was a tepid, three-hour affair. It was last March that Eisner was roasting on the grill as big institutional shareholders slapped him with a 45 percent no-confidence vote that led to his being stripped of his chairman's title. This year, Eisner and Disney's 11 other directors got a warm reception in a city where Friday's 40-plus degree temperature seemed downright tropical compared to the sub-freezing days of late. Encouraged by better earnings, an improved stock price and a promise that Disney's board is searching for Eisner's successor, shareholders overwhelmingly elected each director. Disney President Robert Iger, who hopes to succeed Eisner, got a boost for his candidacy by garnering 95 percent of the shares voted for his re-election. Beyond that, the meeting touched on, but revealed little new, about such pending issues as the search for a potential successor to Eisner, its strained relationship with the company's Miramax film unit and Disney's falling out with Pixar Animation Studios, maker of such hits as The Incredibles and Finding Nemo.Indeed, the meeting, with more than 2,000 attending, had the air of a populist, grass-roots convention.
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Posted By: Ray @ 1:13 PM | 
