Michael Eisner Roundtable Breakfast
8:30 – 9:30 AM
For four decades, Michael Eisner has been a leader in the American entertainment industry. He began his career at ABC, where he helped take the network from number three to number one in primetime, daytime and children's television with such landmark shows as Happy Days; Barney Miller; Rich Man, Poor Man; and Roots. In 1976, he became president of Paramount Pictures, turning out hit films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Terms of Endearment. In 1984 Michael assumed the position of chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company and, in the ensuing twenty-one years, transformed it from a film and theme park company with $1.8 billion in enterprise value into a global media empire valued at $80 billion. In 2005, Michael began the next act of his career, by founding the Tornante Company; a privately held company that makes investments and incubates companies and opportunities in the media and entertainment space. Through the Tornante Company, he created Vuguru, a new media studio that produces world class content for the internet and emerging digital platforms.