Before Disney came Camp Keewaydin, Vermont’s fabled camp where Michael Eisner absorbed life lessons as a camper and then a counselor. In this nostalgic evening, Eisner discusses anecdotes from his book Camp: Life, Leadership, and Why You Never Stop Paddling—celebrating its twentieth anniversary re-release—and stories from his life in the upper echelons of American business that illustrate the camp’s continued influence.

For five 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; Laverne and Shirley; Schoolhouse Rock; 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, Terms of Endearment, Ordinary People, Airplane, and Beverly Hills Cop. This string of critically acclaimed and blockbuster films led the studio to become number one in box office and profitability in both theatrical movies and network television production. 

In 1984, Eisner 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 now valued at over $180 billion. 

In 2005, Eisner founded The Tornante Company, a privately held media and entertainment holding company. Tornante purchased and subsequently sold Topps, Inc. Today, Tornante owns Portsmouth Football Club in England, with men’s and women’s clubs, and has a large and growing television division including ownership of animated series BoJack Horseman, Tuca & Bertie, and Undone. 

He and his wife, Jane, founded The Eisner Foundation in 1996, which, in 2015, became the only U.S. funder investing exclusively in intergenerational solutions. 

He was born on March 7, 1942 in Mt. Kisco, New York and later attended Lawrenceville School and Denison University. He and Jane have three sons, Breck, Eric, and Anders, three daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren.