Jobs seeking re-election to Disney board

Chauncey Dupree
|
January 17, 2009
|
Share

Steve Jobs has been a board member of Disney since 2006 when they bought Pixar, the digital animation studio he had run after originally leaving Apple.  According the the FT, his re-election bid may be fraught with people like Charles Elson, professor of corporate governance at the University of Delaware who state:

“A directorship is not an honorary position, If he’s said he can’t run Apple, how on earth can he [stand for the Disney board again]?  Non-executive directors of large public companies need to be able to devote at least 250 hours a year to the position.”

Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, has cited Mr Jobs knowledge and experience as he positions Disney to capitalize on new media platforms.

 

Shortly before it bought Pixar, Disney signed a landmark deal with Apple to make its ABC TV programming, such as Lost and Desperate Housewives, available on Apple’s iTunes store.

Disney has been at the forefront of Hollywood’s embrace of new technology ever since, launching the first video player for a US TV network and making its library content available on iTunes.

Casting Jobs aside might not be the best move for the entertainment conglomerate.

Comments (6)

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 17, 2009 - 5:43am

Wow. I wish I could work at my job 250 hours a year and call it quits.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 17, 2009 - 6:10am

1. I believe Jobs happens to be the single largest shareholder of Disney stock.

2. Even though he is on a medical leave he will still participate in making strategic decisions at Apple and Disney. Ever hear of working at home remotely?

3. Can we please end this morbid speculation about the man's health. It's getting pretty disgusting.

Nace (not verified) | January 19, 2009 - 6:59am

I totally agree with ending the speculation. Those who had shareholder concerns, your arguments for ongoing analysis are moot. At the end of the day this is a fellow human being, let's respect him as such.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 17, 2009 - 8:04am

Board of directors jobs are WAY easier than being a CEO. Not sure about Disney, but Apple's board meets quarterly. That is once every 3 months. 4 meetings a year. Sure there is "work" to do in between the meetings, but I think there is a big public misconception beween what the "C-suite"(CEO, COO, CFO) does at a company and a Board of Directors does.

Not making a judgement on whether or not Steve should stick with Disney, just pointing out that the logic is flawed.

Most of the work that a BOD does is actually in these quarterly meetings. They have presentations made to them, and they make decisions based on their expertise.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 18, 2009 - 12:22am

a voice of reason. he's a pain in the ass, not santa claus.

http://www.cringely.com/2009/01/don%E2%80%99t-worry-about-apple/

KORG (not verified) | January 18, 2009 - 4:20am

That Charles Elson is true hater (cock blocker) trying get his!

I'm supervisor of social workers, and I know what subordinate can work from home or not, Heck, I show up to the main office two days a week. I rarely work a full 8 hours! As long as the work get done PERIOD! Please know for fact that people put 60 hours at the office of phuckering around paperclips all day.

STRESS it's the nature of the beast for some jobs. Most of my meeting are conference calls and 'to go meeting off the net'. Apple dude can work home! shhit dude he probably has a clone or some robot of himself to to d those 250 hours.