Investors re-elect Jobs to Disney board
Bloomberg is reporting that Disney investors today have re-elected Steve Jobs to Disney's board of directors. The re-election comes despite proxy advisers who advised the share holders not re-elect Jobs, on account that his health issues might affect his ability to serve in an adequate manner.
The vote, which was held in Salt Lake City earlier today, found 74 percent of investors voting to keep Jobs on the board along with 12 other re-elected nominees. After the vote, Disney sent out an emailed statement saying, "The Walt Disney Company considers itself fortunate to have Steve Jobs as a member of its board of directors." Today's vote was anxiously watched by many analysts, as it was primarily seen as a vote in confidence about whether or not investors thought Steve Jobs could still partake in major strategic decisions.
As a consequence of Disney's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, Jobs' majority stake in Pixar led to him becoming Disney's largest individual shareholder by a wide margin (7 percent ownership; former Disney chairman Michael Eisner came in 2nd with 1.7 percent of shares outstanding). He has held a seat on Disney's board since that time.
