Its revenues are sagging amid declining theme park attendance, a lack of movie hits, and poor ratings for its ABC network. On August 1, the Walt Disney Company warned of worse-than-expected earnings
this quarter, and a credit ratings agency later downgraded Disney debt. Shares of Disney have dropped from nearly $25 in May to less than $15. But according to a report from The Wharton School of
Business the jury is still out on the future of Disney CEO Michael Eisner. “Reports suggest the powerful Roy Disney family and its chief advocate on the Disney board of directors, Stanley Gold, have
lost patience with Eisner and may be pressing for new leadership,” says the Wharton report. Eisner, according to Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader, has an inflexible style that no longer serves
Disney in today’s dynamic, high-tech environment. "Eisner has done great things for the company," Fader says. "But he’s not really the right man for it anymore."
