Mitchell to broker peace at troubled Disney

FORMER US senator George Mitchell, who helped broker peace in the North, has been chosen to oversee the strife-torn Walt Disney Co as its chairman.

Mr Mitchell, 70, was elected chairman yesterday hours after a stormy shareholder meeting, taking on the role which was stripped from chief executive Michael Eisner.

Mr Mitchell garnered widespread praise and a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for his work in brokering peace talks in the North that culminated in 1998's Good Friday Agreement.

Yesterday, the Disney board stripped Mr Eisner of his chairman's post while retaining him as CEO, after shareholders withheld 43% of their votes for his re-election to the board.

Directors split the CEO and chairman duties and made board member Mr Mitchell the company's new chairman.

Although the action satisfies the concerns of corporate governance groups who had called for change, it will not satisfy ex-board members Stanley Gold and Roy Disney, who vowed to fight to oust Mr Eisner.

Mr Mitchell, a former senator from Maine, may also prove to be a controversial choice. Shareholders withheld 24% of their votes from his re-election yesterday the second highest after Mr Eisner.

Mr Mitchell has been criticised by Mr Gold and Mr Disney as being too close to Mr Eisner and not independent enough because his law firm worked for Disney in the past.

"In the end, it's about listening.

"I submit to you that we have been listening to the concerns expressed about us and about all of corporate America," Mr Mitchell said during a day for analysts Disney held in Orlando last month.

"As often happens, it is taking some time for perception to fully catch up with reality, but it will."