LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday named a software executive to fill the seat vacated by an angry Roy Disney who quit as the last member of the Disney family on the company's board in order to spearhead a rebellion against company chairman Michael Eisner.
John Chen, president, chief executive and chairman of database maker Sybase, will join the board in January, the company's directors said after a regularly scheduled meeting which followed the abrupt resignation of Roy Disney, nephew to founder Walt, and his close ally Stanley Gold.
The Disney board said Chen would help it navigate the new world of technology and an analyst said the Hong Kong-born executive would help Disney's theme park expansion in China.
JMP Securities software analyst Amy Feng also said she believed Chen could stand up to pressure on the board, a qualification that will be closely looked after Disney and Gold accused the board of rubber-stamping management decisions.
"I think he will do what is best for the shareholder, whether at Disney or at Sybase, and if that means disagreeing with Eisner, so be it," Feng said.
Disney is a Sybase customer but a Disney source said the companies did less than $25,000 in business annually.
Chen took over as Sybase president in 1997, when the company was losing money, and is credited with turning it around in terms of growth and profits, although it has not reclaimed its market dominance.
Sybase has also made strong inroads into China, while Disney is building a theme park in Hong Kong and considering a second one in Shanghai.
Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at FTN Midwest Research, said Chen avoided office politics. "He builds consensus. He is a person who knows how to dilute conflict -- his disagreements are not personal," he said.
Chen will join the board as an independent director, becoming the 12th director after Aylwin Lewis, president of fast-food restaurateur Yum Brands, Inc., who was named to the board in September and also joins in January.
His appointment comes as Disney is embroiled in a fight with Roy Disney and Gold who both resigned from the board earlier this week vowing to unseat Eisner from his job as chairman and chief executive.
Investors on Tuesday doubted that the fight would succeed, in part due to recent improvement in Disney's financial performance, but Roy Disney and Gold said they were in the fight for the long haul.
In a letter announcing his resignation on Monday, Gold said his former fellow directors made up "an insular Board of Directors serving as a bulwark to shield management from criticism and accountability."
A response from a group of independent Disney directors called Gold's statements untrue and accused him and Roy Disney of taking a "destructive course" in their efforts to effect change.
Chen, 48, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He joined Sybase after rival Oracle Corp. had beaten it in many business arenas.
"From a strategic perspective, some of Disney's most significant long-term growth opportunities reside in the smart use of technology, and John will help the board ensure we're steering the company in the right direction." Eisner said in a statement. (Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte)
By: Peter Henderson
December 2, 2003
Source:
Reuters 
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