Michael Ovitz and The Walt Disney Co. (A)
by Jay W. Lorsch, Alexis Chernak,
Michael Ovitz and The Walt Disney Co. (A) ^ 406065
Jay W. Lorsch
Alexis Chernak
Organizational culture,Compensation and benefits,Boards,Leadership
Source: Harvard Business School
Faced with the need to hire a new president, The Walt Disney Co. pursued Michael Ovitz, a founder of the Creative Artist Agency. Although initially disinterested, Ovitz engaged in negotiations with Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., in the summer of 1995 before accepting an offer. Ovitz officially began as president on October 1 of that year. While the hiring of Ovitz was at first heralded as a coup for Disney, Eisner and senior executives began to have doubts about Ovitz's fit with the company culture. By the summer of 1996, Eisner decided Ovitz had to be fired. He began conversations with members of the board of directors, who agreed Ovitz's contract should be terminated. Ovitz left the company at the end of the year with a sizable severance package.
Related Topics: Organizational culture, Compensation and benefits, Boards, Leadership,
Dennis Hightower and the Walt Disney Co. in Europe
By Barbara Feinberg,
The Walt Disney Studios
By Anita Elberse,
Walt Disney Co.: The Entertainment King
By Michael G. Rukstad, David J. Collis, Tyrrell Levine,
Michael Ovitz and The Walt Disney Co. (B)
By Frank T. Rothaermel, Noorein Inamdar,