Do you want to be Disney's (NYSE:DIS) next CEO? If so, you better hurry. This week the company's board announced that it would identify Michael Eisner's successor by no later than June. That may not seem like much of a rush job until you consider that Disney's next chieftain will be waiting for another 15 months after that to try the throne on for size.
The early application deadline seems to indicate that the board is leaning toward sticking with Eisner's suggested choice in COO Bob Iger. Some of the bigger names that have been tossed around as possible replacements such as eBay's (NASDAQ:EBAY) Meg Whitman and Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ:YHOO) Terry Semel are now likely to be crossed off the wish list given the rather unflattering notion of having to swing away in the on-deck circle for the next two years.
The June deadline may also knock out former Disney studio whiz Jeffrey Katzenberg as a candidate given his current workload trying to take DreamWorks Animation public. Paul Pressler, who oversaw Disney's theme parks before being named CEO at Gap (NYSE:GPS) last year, is also an unlikely applicant now given the recent hiccups at the specialty retailer that he was helping to turn around. My personal favorite, Apple Computer's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Steve Jobs, may also be falling behind with the June deadline, as Jobs taking over would probably be part of much larger negotiations -- if not an outright buyout -- of Jobs' majority-owned Pixar (NASDAQ:PIXR).
So who is left? Is Iger a lock? Don't bet on it. I tagged him as a 2-to-1 front-runner last week, but he still has some things working against him. While Disney has stressed that Iger will be the only internal name considered, the fact that under his watch ABC has gone from first to last place (and the June deadline mandates a turnaround now in the fall instead of giving Iger another crack in fall 2005) finds the Disney board practically forcing itself into a regime change.
That leaves Mel Karmazin closing in for a great shot at leading Disney if he wants to. The broadcasting wunderkind left Viacom (NYSE:VIA) back in June, and he is the anti-Iger. He left Viacom with its CBS network on top, and Viacom operates in many of the same businesses as Disney given its own Paramount movie studio and theme parks. The fact that Karmazin is enjoying the flexibility of elective unemployment makes him the most likely outsider to accept a job that will start out as a temp job for an extended period of time.
But will the same board that turned a blind eye to the overwhelming vote of no confidence for Eisner earlier this year make the mistake of promoting from the inside? Disney has a chance to wipe away the skeptics and show a commitment to quality and financial perseverance. All it has to do now is crack open a window and see what's out there.
Who do you think should be Disney's next CEO? What would be the first five things you do if you were tapped for the position? All this and more in the Disney discussion board.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz wants to know whether he needs a passport to ride It's a Small World. He owns shares in Disney, Viacom, and Pixar.
