Shareholders ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent accountants for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2003.
The preliminary vote was 1,619,867,070 FOR and 121,463,417 AGAINST, with 20,580,051 abstentions. (Final voting tallies are subject to certification by the company's inspector of elections, and will be included in the company's next quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.)
Shareholders approved the company's Amended and Restated 1997 Non-Employee Directors Stock and Deferred Compensation Plan. The preliminary vote was 1,664,325,218 FOR and 68,246,197 AGAINST, with 29,302,805 abstentions.
For the second straight year, shareholders rejected a shareholder proposal to impose special conditions on the manufacture of Disney-branded products in China. Chairman Michael Eisner again noted that the company had in place a global code of conduct concerning manufacturing, coupled with active educational, monitoring and enforcement efforts. The vote was 117,000,030 FOR and 1,130,727,491 AGAINST, with 107,459,851 abstentions.
Also for the second straight year, a shareholder proposal to require the company to prepare a special report to shareholders on theme park safety was defeated.
The preliminary vote was 108,387,582 FOR and 1,155,866,423 AGAINST, with 90,979,703 abstentions.
A shareholder proposal calling for a special executive compensation review was defeated. The preliminary vote was 187,770,691 FOR and 1,104,785,414 AGAINST, with 62,676,968 abstentions.
A final shareholder proposal to tie the exercise price of all future stock option grants to senior executives to measurable criteria of performance was also defeated.
The preliminary vote was 187,971,367 FOR and 1,106,805,792 AGAINST, with 60,466,330 abstentions.
Shareholders of The Walt Disney Company voted by a wide margin to return 13 of the company's directors to new one-year terms.
At least 1,593,514,258 shares, or 90.44 percent of those voting, were voted in favor of returning the following directors to the board:
- John E. Bryson
- Roy E. Disney
- Michael D. Eisner
- Judith L. Estrin
- Stanley P. Gold
- Robert A. Iger
- Monica C. Lozano
- Robert W. Matschullat
- George J. Mitchell
- Thomas S. Murphy
- Leo J. O'Donovan, S.J.
- Raymond L. Watson
- Gary L. Wilson
Following are the prepared presentations for the shareholder meeting by Disney executives Eisner, President and COO Robert Iger, and Senior Executive Vice President and CFO Thomas Staggs: