Walt Disney's daughter said embattled CEO Michael Eisner should resign from the company her father founded, though she warned that the campaign to oust him was "ill-timed" and could prove harmful.
"It's time to step down and let someone else come in for the future," Diane Disney Miller told the Los Angeles Times for a story in Wednesday editions.
Miller, Walt Disney's only surviving child, sold her personal Disney stock in the late 1980s. She said her children, grandchildren, trusts and a foundation still own about 2 million shares, worth about $50 million.
"New leadership is necessary," she said. "I think Michael Eisner did some great things for the company, but there also are some not so great things."
But Miller called the campaign to remove Eisner launched by her cousin, former board member Roy E. Disney, "vicious and personal," warning it could cause Disney stock to plunge and leave the company open to a takeover by Comcast Corp.
"Roy's move was ill-timed, and it helped put the company in play," Miller said. "It showed there is weakness and discord at the top of the company."
A spokesman for Roy Disney said though the two don't see eye-to-eye on the strategy, they agree that it's time for a new company manager.
Walt Disney Co. did not respond to Miller's comments.
Miller's relationship with the company and Roy Disney often has been tense. Roy Disney pushed to remove her husband, Ron Miller, as the company's CEO in 1984. He was replaced by Eisner.
Last week, 43 percent of shareholders withheld votes from Eisner and he was stripped by the company's board of his title of chairman. He remains the company's CEO.