Walt Disney Company - Eisner Facing Uphill Battle -

Michael Eisner is facing toughest times that he has confronted at the helm of the prestigious Disney Corporation since he first came to the company in 1984 when he proceeded to take it from a company with a couple theme parks and a small studio of famous but aging animated movies to a massive media conglomerate encompassing divisions ranging from the most prestigious sports network to one of the "big 4" TV networks to reviving the most famous animation company in history. However, most recently he, in the face of Disney's slumping margins, has been asked to step down by long time allies Roy Disney and Stanley Gold who resigned from the Board of Directors this week in the face of what they see as a dilemna at the helm. Many of the board members are said to feel the same way.

Eisner however, is credited with leading the company through the 1990s. Resisting courting Internet companies that have since doomed competition. He has been embattled by various scandals that involve him being criticized for taking too much control of the company and micro-managing it beyond necessity. He has also been criticized for not producing the same kind of sucess that News Corp. has seen in the past few years.-Associated Press