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Pressler Disney departure raises questions about Eisner successor

By GARY GENTILE
AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) Paul Pressler was considered to be one of The Walt Disney Co.'s brightest executives, running its profitable flagship parks and resorts division.

The soft-spoken Pressler was also ambitious, and some speculate he decided this week to become chief executive at Gap Inc. at least in part because it became clear in recent days that he was not in line to succeed Disney chief executive Michael Eisner.

``Most of the sell-side portion of the street won't consider it a coincidence that this was announced so quickly after Disney's pivotal board meeting Tuesday,'' said David Miller, an analyst with Sander Morris Harris.

Disney board members have been asking Eisner for a succession plan and it is believed that the matter was discussed at Tuesday's board meeting at which Eisner presented a turnaround plan for the struggling company.

Eisner has run the company since 1984 and his contract expires in 2006. Investors have also been asking for a clear signal as to who will lead Disney after Eisner leaves.

``We view the departure of Mr. Pressler as a loss, and one that is likely to raise the succession issue in the minds of investors,'' Prudential Securities analyst Katherine Styponias wrote in a report Thursday.

Pressler, who has run the company's parks and resorts division since 1998 and before that was president of the Disney stores, said the issue of succession did not influence his decision to leave Disney.

``It just came up,'' Pressler said of the Gap job. ``I'm incredibly pleased and happy with my career at Disney. Michael has been a great mentor and friend. After 16 years, I thought I'd finish my career here (at Disney). It was purely a personal decision about an awesome opportunity.''

Eisner praised Pressler, who assumes his new duties at Gap Inc. on Monday.

``Under his leadership, both the parks and resorts and the Disney stores were guided through a time of enormous creative and financial growth,'' Eisner said in a statement.

Thanks in large part to Pressler's performance, the question of his successor is not critical, analysts said.

Disney has just completed several years of building new parks in Paris, California and Tokyo and recently broke ground on its latest project in Kong Kong.

Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim got off to a slow start when its attempt to appeal to adults with gourmet restaurants and nostalgic carnival attractions failed to catch on. The park has been retooling by adding more rides for younger children and returning to more tried and true Disney themes.

The challenge for the parks now is the economy and consumer confidence, analysts said.

``In our opinion, how the economy performs next year is far more important for the parks than management changes that will occur,'' Styponias wrote.

Analysts also noted that the parks and resorts division has several talented executives who could assume Pressler's role, including Cynthia Harriss, president of the Disneyland Resort, and Al Weiss, president of the Walt Disney World Resort.

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