Disney board member reelection opposed

Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis Friday opposed reelection of half of Walt Disney's ten member board claiming excessive exec compensation and one director's ties to a bank that was seized by federal regulators in 2008. Glass Lewis said four nominees, Susan Arnold, John Chen, Fred Langhammer and Alwyn Lewis, served on the committee that awarded CEO Robert Iger north of $30 million in total compensation for fiscal 2011. Glass Lewis wrote that according to its measurements, the Mouse overall "paid more than its peers, but performed moderately worse than its peers" Disney had said in its proxy statement, which is where companies list the salaries of their top five highest paid executives, that much of Iger's pay was tied to Disney performance. Iger wasn't even the highest paid media topper last year. Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman was awarded $43 million in total compensation. Another Mouse director, Orin Smith was on the board of Washington Mutual from 2005 until its seizure by the FDIC in September 2008, serving on the audit and governance committees, said Glass Lewis, noting, "We believe that all of Washington Mutual's directors bear some responsibility for the company's excessive risk-taking that led to its collapse." Shareholders will vote to elect directors at Disney's annual shareholders meeting next Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri. Iger will also formally succeed retiring John Pepper as chairman of the board. That's another bone of contention with Glass Lewis, which prefers the chairman and CEO to be split positions although many companies have one person in the role. Iger plans to step down as Walt Disney CEO in 2015. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com