The $45 billion company with 175,000 employees has grown too large to be run from the top down. It now comprises four divisions and five key brands, Disney, ESPN, ABC, Marvel and Pixar. It also consists of cruises and theme parks around the world. The most ambitious is Shanghai Disney, now under construction and due to open in 2015. Observers reckon it will be Iger’s capstone achievement. (His current contract expires in June 2016.)
The payoff has been dramatic. During Iger’s tenure through the end of the 2013 fiscal year, Walt Disney’s total shareholder return was 202 percent. In other words, if you invested $100 at the beginning of his tenure, your investment would have been worth $302 at the end of 2013. In addition, the company’s share price recently hit an all-time closing high of $79.23 in February. The stock was just $23.81 when Iger became CEO. What’s more, the company’s market cap reached $130 billion for the first time ever.
Other recent milestones from last year include:
Always admired, Disney topped last year’s ranking by the Reputation Institute, a private firm that measure’s consumer’s perceptions. In 2012, it ranked 17. It ranks ninth overall in Fortune’s list of the most admired and second on Barron’s 100 most respected companies.
With the possibility of Iger’s stepping down less than two years off, the contest over who will replace him looms. The departure of Disney Media Networks co-chairman Anne Sweeney, one of the company’s two top television executives—along with ESPN head John Skipper—focuses the spotlight more intensely on two candidates: resorts chairman Thomas Staggs and CFO Jay Rasulo. In 2010, Iger had the two switch jobs, a move that gave Staggs his first operational experience and Rasulo involvement in financial decision-making.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
