The Walt Disney Company

The Walt DIsney Company

Type	Public (NYSE: DIS)
Founded	Los Angeles, California, U.S. (October 16, 1923)
Founder(s)	Walt Disney and Roy Disney
Headquarters	The Walt Disney Studios Burbank, California, U.S.
Key people	Robert A. "Bob" Iger President & CEO John E. Pepper, Jr. Chairman Roy E. Disney DirectorEmeritus Steve Jobs Chief Shareholder Anne Sweeney President, Disney-ABC Television Group & Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks
Industry	Media and Entertainment
Revenue	US$ 37.843 billion (2008)
Operating income	US$ 7.402 billion (2008)
Net income	US$ 4.427 billion (2008)
Total assets	US$ 62.497 billion (2008)
Total equity	US$ 54.878 billion (2008)
Employees	150,000 (2008)
Divisions	Walt Disney Studio Entertainment, Disney-ABC Television Group, Disney Interactive Media Group, Walt Disney Consumer Products, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Interactive Studios
Website	Disney.com

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products. Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as an animation studio, it has become one of the biggest Hollywood studios, and owner and licensor of eleven theme parks and several television networks, including ABC and ESPN. Disney's corporate headquarters and primary production facilities are located at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6, 1991. Mickey Mouse serves as the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company.

 Company Divisions

Walt Disney Studio Entertainment

• Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group
  • Walt Disney Pictures
  • Walt Disney Animation Studios
  • Pixar Animation Studios
  • Disneynature
  • Touchstone Pictures
  • Hollywood Pictures
  • Miramax Films
• Disney Music Group
• Walt Disney Theatrical

Disney-ABC Television Group

• ABC
• ABC News
• ABC Family
• Disney Channel
• Disney Family Movies
• Playhouse Disney
• Disney's One Saturday Morning
• ABC Kids
• Jetix (has now been changed to Disney XD)
• Jetix Play (has now been changed to Disney XD)
• Disney XD
• Radio Disney

ESPN Inc

• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNEWS
• ESPN Classic
• ESPNU
• ESPN Deportes
• ESPN PPV
• ESPN Plus
• ESPN on ABC
• ESPN 360
• ESPN Mobile
• ESPN Radio

Disney Interactive Media Group

• disney.com
• ABC.com
• espn.com
• clubpenguin.com

Walt Disney Consumer Products

• Disney Consumer Products
• Disney Publishing Worldwide
• Baby Einstein
• Disney Store
• Muppets Holding Company
• Disney Interactive Studios
• World of Disney Stores

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

The company's Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division owns and operates two resorts in the United States and another three internationally through various joint ventures and licensing agreements. These are:

• Disneyland Resort
• Walt Disney World Resort
• Tokyo Disney Resort, licensed to The Oriental Land Company
• Disneyland Resort Paris, through joint venture Euro Disney S.C.A.
• Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, through joint venture Hong Kong International Theme Parks
• Disney Cruise Line

 Senior Executive Management

• Robert Iger - President and CEO
• Roy E. Disney - Consultant and Vice Chair Director Emeritus
• John Lasseter - Chief Creative Officer
• Thomas O. Staggs - Senior Executive Vice President and CFO
• Alan N. Braverman - Senior Executive Vice President, General counsel
• Ronald L. Iden - Senior Vice President, Security
• Brent Woodford - Senior Vice President, Planning and Control
• Dennis W. Shuler - Executive Vice President, Chief Human resources Officer
• Steve Milovich - Senior Vice President, Human Resources
• Zenia Mucha - Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications
• Preston Padden - Executive Vice President, Government Relations
• Christine M. McCarthy - Executive Vice President, Corporate Finance and Real Estate and Treasurer
• Kevin Mayer - Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Technology Group

 Current Division Heads

• Richard Cook - Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios
  • Alan Bergman - President, Production The Walt Disney Studios
  • Mark Zoradi - President, Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group
  • Oren Aviv - President Production, Walt Disney Pictures
  • Edwin Catmull - President, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios
    • John Lasseter - Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios
  • Jean-Francois Camilleri - President, Disneynature
  • Thomas Schumacher - President, Walt Disney Theatrical

• Bob Cavallo - Chairman, Disney Music Group
  • David Agnew - President, Walt Disney Records
  • Randy Goodman - President, Lyric Street Records

• Jay Rasulo - Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
  • Ed Grier - President, Disneyland Resort
  • Meg Crofton - President, Walt Disney World Resort
  • Toshio Kagami - President, Tokyo Disney Resort
  • Philippe Gas - Chairman, Disneyland Resort Paris
  • Andrew Kam - Managing Director, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
  • Karl Holz - President, Disney Cruise Line
  • Jim Lewis - President, Disney Vacation Club

• George W. Bodenheimer - Co-Chairman, Disney Interactive Media Group, President, ESPNinc,. and ESPN on ABC, Chairman, ESPN Board of Directors
• Anne Sweeney - Co-Chair Disney Interactive Media Group, President, Disney-ABC Television Group
• Walter C. Liss - President, ABC Owned Television Stations
  • Mark Pedowitz - President, ABC Studios
  • Paul Lee - President, ABC Family
  • Brian Scott Frons - President, ABC Daytime
  • David Westin - President, ABC News
  • Rich Ross - President, Disney Channel's Worldwide
  • Ellen Archer - President, Hyperion

• Andy Bird - Chairman, Walt Disney International

• Steve Wadsworth - Chairman, Walt Disney Internet Group
  • Lane Merrifield - Executive Vice President, Walt Disney Internet Group

• Andrew P. Mooney - Chairman, Disney Consumer Products
  • Russell Hampton Jr. - President, Disney Publishing Worldwide

 Disney Management History

 Presidents

• 1940-1966: Walt Disney
• 1966-1971: Roy O. Disney
• 1968-1972: Donn Tatum
• 1971-1977: Card Walker
• 1980-1984: Ron W. Miller
• 1984-1994: Frank Wells
• 1995-1997: Michael Ovitz
• 2000-Present: Robert Iger

 Chief Executive Officers

• 1929-1971: Roy O. Disney
• 1971-1976: Donn Tatum
• 1976-1983: Card Walker
• 1983-1984: Ron W. Miller
• 1984-2005: Michael Eisner
• 2005-Present: Robert Iger

 Chairmen of the Board

• 1945-1960: Walt Disney
• 1945-1971: Roy O. Disney (Co-Chair 1945-1960)
• 1971-1980: Donn Tatum
• 1980-1983: Card Walker
• 1983-1984: Raymond Watson
• 1984-2004: Michael Eisner
• 2004-2006: George J. Mitchell
• 2007-Present: John E. Pepper, Jr.

• • From 1945 to 1960 Walt and Roy Disney shared the role of Chairman of the Board. Walt dropped the Chairman title in 1960 so he could focus more on the creative aspects of the company. Roy O. Disney kept the Chairman and CEO's role.

 Vice Chairman of the Board

• 1984-2003: Roy E. Disney
• 1999-2000: Sanford Litvack (Co-Vice Chair)
• 2000-present: Maurice Vikour

 Chief Operating Officers

• 1984-1994: Frank Wells
• 1997-1999: Sanford Litvack (Acting Chief of Operations)
• 2000-2005: Robert Iger

 Timeline

 Financial Data

 Revenues

1. ^ also named Films
2. ^ ^{a b} Merged into Creative Content in 1996
3. ^ Broadcasting from 1994 to 1996
4. ^ Walt Disney Internet Group, from 1997 to 2000, next merged with Disney Media Networks
5. ^ Disney Interactive Media Group, starting in 2008 with the merge of WDIG and Disney Interactive Studios
6. ^ Suite au rachat d'ABC

 Net Income

1. ^ also named Films
2. ^ ^{a b} Merged into Creative Content in 1996
3. ^ Broadcasting from 1994 to 1996
4. ^ Walt Disney Internet Group, from 1997 to 2000, next merged with Disney Media Networks
5. ^ Disney Interactive Media Group, merge of WDIG and Disney Interactive Studios
6. ^ Not link to WDIG, Disney reported a 300 millions $ lost due to financial modification regarding a real estate

 Criticism, controversies and conflict

Disney's media releases and company practices have prompted action from activists, artists, and causes around the world.

• Religious welfare groups, such as the Catholic League, have spoken out against the release of material which they and others found offensive, including vehement protests of the Miramax Films features Priest (1994) and Dogma (1999). Disney pushed back the release date for Dogma due to the controversy surrounding the movie, and eventually sold the distribution rights to Lions Gate Films. The ABC show Nothing Sacred, about a Jesuit priest, a children's book called Growing Up Gay (published by Disney-owned Hyperion Press), the annual Gay and Lesbian Days at Disney theme parks, and similar issues spurred boycotts of Disney and its advertisers by the Catholic League, the Assemblies of God, and other conservative groups.

• The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the American Family Association voted to boycott Disney over opposition to the latter offering domestic partnership benefits to gay employees and the ABC show Ellen, in which Ellen DeGeneres' character came out as a lesbian; Disney ignored the boycotts, which failed. Both were withdrawn in 2005.

• In 1995 a pro-life lobby group, American Life League (ALL), alleged that several Disney films, including The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin contained subliminal messages and sexual imagery. The Lion King allegation was later denied by Tom Sito, a Disney animator and a writer for the film, who said that the letters written in the dust were actually "S.F.X". It was intended to be an easter egg signature from the animation department, and that the controversy that followed was entirely unintentional.

• The company has been accused of human rights violations regarding the working conditions in factories that produce their merchandise. It has been criticized also by animal welfare groups, for their care of and procedures for wild animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park, and for using purebred dogs in movies such as 101 Dalmatians. Animal rights groups claim movies with purebreds create an artificial demand for purebreds from people who may not be prepared or temperamentally suited for the animals, many of whom end up abandoned or surrendered to shelters or rescue groups.

• An environmental management plan for a zone of Great Guana Cay, in the Abaco Islands, criticized Disney for poor management of a 90-acre (36.4 ha) tract of the island. Disney partially developed but then abandoned the place, which was to have been a cruise ship resort called Treasure Island. The report, by the University of Miami and the College of the Bahamas, blames Disney for leaving hazardous materials, electrical transformers, and fuel tanks, and also for introducing invasive alien plants and insects that threaten the natural flora and fauna of the island.

• Disney often recreates movies based on fairy tales or stories and sometimes changes key parts of them. For example the matchmaking interview from Mulan never actually existed in ancient China. Disney also has a perfume and cologne line.