Newspaper articles are long on speculation and short on details concerning eBay CEO Meg Whitman's decision to withdraw her name from contention as Disney's new CEO. Whitman pulled out of the running to succeed Michael Eisner before the board had made its decision. Slate did an interesting piece on Iger's challenges in his new role (Disney announced on Sunday its decision to hire Eisner's top pick for the slot, Robert Iger). One interesting tidbit, "Iger may be benefiting from Disney's dysfunction. The company's problems may be so profound that none of these distinguished outsiders wanted to have to deal with them." http://slate.msn.com/id/2114794/nav/ais
But the Wall Street Journal, which broke the story on Saturday, has a follow-up piece that gives the most details. The Journal said Whitman met with the board on March 6, and was promised an answer the next day, which never came:
"While Ms. Whitman was interested in the job, she was extremely leery of being used as a stalking horse to demonstrate that the board had an outside option, said a person familiar with the matter. She didn't hear from the recruiter on Monday or Tuesday. By midweek, board members told her that the process was taking longer than expected, according to people familiar with the matter.By Friday, Ms. Whitman had resolved not to take the job, a decision that was solidified by reading press reports about a letter sent to the board by Messrs. Disney and Gold, the dissident shareholders, criticizing the selection process, said a person familiar with the matter. Ms. Whitman grew concerned that Mr. Iger was the candidate the board wanted all along, people familiar with the situation said." http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111069770991777940,00.html
While she may have seen this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity worth exploring, it also got some people wondering if Whitman was actively looking to leave eBay and why. Here's what Whitman herself had to say about it in a memo to employees: http://digbig.com/4cxph
Although it's not hard to understand why eBay's CEO would be willing to consider the top job at Disney, it's unfortunate for eBay that word leaked out at a time when analysts and users are asking tough questions. The fallout from February price increases and the 2004 financials, reported in January, continue to haunt eBay. Some media reports indicated the news about Whitman would not have been so dramatic had eBay not been, in the words of one analyst, "plagued with so much uncertainty at this point."
eBay increasingly finds itself on the defensive, a new position for the 9-year-old company that is more used to framing the issues. Top communications honcho Henry Gomez found himself answering questions like who would succeed Whitman should she leave the company (no comment, other than "the board is always looking at succession"). http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/technology/11139532.htm
After this week, the eBay Board will probably look even harder at whom should replace Whitman should she step down.
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