Disney World - The Online Guide

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Biographies

Michael D. Eisner - CEO & Chairman, The Walt Disney Company

For more than three decades, Michael Eisner has been a leader in the entertainment industry, helping to shape this key area of the American economy.

He began his career at ABC, where he rose to senior vice president of prime time production and development, taking the network from number three to number one with such landmark shows as Happy Days; Barney Miller; Rich Man, Poor Man; and Roots.
In 1977, Eisner became president of Paramount Pictures, leading the studio to become number one in box office and profitability, with such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Ordinary People and Terms of Endearment.
In 1984, Eisner assumed his current position as CEO and chairman of The Walt Disney Company, and immediately implemented a number of successful growth strategies.
At the theme parks, attendance and revenues climbed due to popular new attractions and the addition of new hotels and an entire new theme park, Disney-MGM Studios.
Thanks, in part, to the development of The Disney Stores, Disney Consumer Products rose to dominance in the field of entertainment merchandise.
The Disney Studios shot from last place to first with live-action films such as Down and Out in Beverly Hills; Three Men and a Baby; Good Morning, Vietnam; and Dead Poets Society. Renewed efforts at Disney animation resulted in such fiscally and creatively successful films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Mulan, Tarzan and Dinosaur.
During the 1990s, Disney continued its dramatic growth, thanks to a wide range of initiatives, including:

The opening of Disneyland Paris, which is now Europe�s most popular paid vacation destination.

The expansion of Walt Disney World with such enhancements as Disney�s Animal Kingdom theme park, Blizzard Beach water park, the town of Celebration and the Downtown Disney entertainment district. Further expansions are scheduled in the next two years with entirely new theme parks in Anaheim, Tokyo and Paris.

The acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC, which added the ABC television network and such cable assets as ESPN, The History Channel, Lifetime, A&E and E!

The development of such leading Internet sites as Disney.com, ESPN.com, ABCNews.com, ABC.com and Family.com.

The acquisition of Miramax Pictures, which went on to release such critical and box office hits as The English Patient, Good Will Hunting, Life is Beautiful, Shakespeare in Love and The Cider House Rules.

The creation of Walt Disney Theatrical, which has now produced three successful Broadway shows -- Beauty & the Beast, Aida and the box office phenomenon, The Lion King.

The development of such theme park-related businesses as Disney Cruise Line and Disney Regional Entertainment.

Since Eisner joined Disney, the company�s annual revenues have grown from $1.7 billion to $23.4 billion, operating income has gone up from $291 million to $3.2 billion, and its stock price has risen by 34 times.
Eisner is the author of a book, Work in Progress, which he wrote with Tony Schwartz about his involvement in the entertainment industry.
Born March 7, 1942, in New York, he graduated from Lawrenceville School in 1960 and Denison University in 1964 with a B.A. in English literature and theater. He serves on the boards of California Institute of the Arts, Denison University, American Hospital of Paris Foundation, Conservation International, the UCLA Executive Board for Medical Sciences and the National Hockey League. He has established and funded The Eisner Foundation, a philanthropic organization headed by his wife, Jane.
He and Jane have three sons, Breck, Eric and Anders.

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