Earlier this week, Walt Disney Co DIS 1.12% announced COO Thomas Staggs will be stepping down as of May 6. Investors are hoping for a smooth transition, but Disney has a history of messy executive changes.
Back in 1994, Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly left the company after a 10-year tenure due to a dispute with then-CEO Michael Eisner. Katzenberg then proceeded to sue Disney for money he felt he was owed and eventually settled out of court for $250 million.
In 1997, Michael Ovitz was dismissed from his position as President of Disney after less that two years on the job. Despite the short tenure, Orvitz was granted a severance package valued at $38 million in cash and $100 million in stock. The huge severance package later became the centerpiece of a shareholder lawsuit against Disney.
Even Michael Eisner himself had a controversial departure from Disney. During Disney’s 2004 annual shareholder meeting, 43 percent of shareholders withheld their proxies to re-elect Eisner to the board of directors. The board was forced to turn over Eisner’s position to new chairman George Mitchell, and Eisner stepped down as CEO a year later.
Disney’s announcement of the departure of Staggs came…
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