THE WALT DISNEY CO. CEO seeking support of Ohio pension funds

Large pension funds line up against Disney's Eisner.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Eisner is feeling the heat.
The embattled CEO of The Walt Disney Co. flew to Ohio on Thursday to convince officials of five public pension funds that they should vote for his re-election to the company board.
Funds in California, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey that control nearly 30 million Disney shares already have stated they will withhold their votes -- the equivalent of a "no" vote.
Eisner's re-election isn't in doubt because he is running unopposed and many large mutual funds and other institutional shareholders are likely to vote for him.
But a large protest vote at the March 3 annual shareholders meeting in Philadelphia would be unsettling for the Mouse House and for Eisner, whom critics blame for a long slump in Disney profits.
Ex-board directors Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold have waged a three-month campaign against Eisner and three other Disney directors.
As a sign of how seriously the company is taking the votes, Eisner and Robert Matschullat, chairman of Disney's audit committee, flew to Columbus on Thursday to meet officials from five state pension funds that will decide by Monday whether to support him.
The state's main retirement fund controls 4.6 million Disney shares.
Disney issued a statement Thursday repeating earlier estimates of double-digit earnings growth through 2007 and 30 percent growth this year.
"Disney's record of building value is indisputable, and it is a well-managed company with world-class governance and a laser-focus on building shareholder value," the statement read.
Against Eisner
The scurrying came on the same day that New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said the nation's second-largest pension fund was withholding support for Eisner.
"Under Michael Eisner's management, Disney has not performed well over the last several years," Hevesi said in a statement.
"His tight control over Disney's decision making and his role as CEO and chairman of the board call into question his commitment to corporate governance reforms."
The New York State Common Retirement Fund controls about 8.7 million Disney shares worth about $225 million.
The interests of large pension funds do not necessarily align, however, with the interests of other institutional shareholders or even individuals, who say they have been pleased with the most recent performance of Disney's shares.
Large pension funds might own Disney shares as part of an indexing strategy -- Disney is included in the widely mimicked Standard & amp; Poor's 500 index and among the 30 components of the Dow Jones industrial average -- which means many hold the shares for a long time.