Michael Eisner

Former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner received the lion's share of the credit when he reversed the company's declining fortunes in the mid-1980s, although charges of a lack of vision and an isolationist management style later led to his humiliating, forced departure in 2005. Beginning his career at the big three networks - NBC, CBS, and ABC, respectively - Eisner followed former boss Barry Diller over to Paramount Pictures in 1976. During his time as the studio's president and CEO, he oversaw an impressive string of hit films that included "Saturday Night Fever" (1977), "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979), and "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984). After Diller's departure, Eisner felt he had hit the career ceiling at Paramount and began courting Disney for a position, ultimately consummating the relationship when he was named chairman and CEO in 1984. Under Eisner's stewardship the company experienced a startling transformation, beginning with its reemergence as the leader in animated feature films with the release of "The Little Mermaid" (1989). With studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, he made Disney's live-action film company, Touchstone Pictures, a force to be reckoned with at the box office. Major acquisitions, such as that of independent studio Miramax, sports cable channel ESPN, and major network ABC all added to the company's expanding fortunes. There were, however, several missteps along the way, including the Euro Disney debacle, and the highly publicized, litigious departures of Katzenberg and Michael Ovitz. These unflattering events, combined with charges of mismanagement by the late Walt Disney's nephew, Roy E. Disney, eventually led to shareholders forcing Eisner out of the company in 2005. Never known to shrink from a challenge or fail to create opportunities for himself, Eisner rebounded by forming his own investment company, hosting his own talk show, and developing a comedy series for television, making it clear that, to paraphrase the immortal Mark Twain - rumors of his (entrepreneurial) death had been greatly exaggerated.