Did Disney Give Ovitz a Bigger Title? Or Is It Just a Dumbo-Sized Blooper?

Is Walt Disney Co. President Michael Ovitz due for a bigger title?

Or is he merely the subject of a high-profile printing goof?

Invitations sent by the company for the gala 25th anniversary celebration of Walt Disney World in Florida list a dinner and welcome party on Sept. 30 at the Orlando Arena. Hosts for the event are Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner along with Ovitz, who is described on the invitation as both the company’s president and chief operating officer.

Trouble is, the COO title to date has never been formally bestowed upon Ovitz.

Indeed, the company last year went out of its way to not give him the additional title of COO. At the time, sources said it was intentional so that the egos of other senior executives could be soothed while they got accustomed to Ovitz’s being on board. What’s more, Disney Senior Executive Vice President Sanford M. Litvack already carries a similar title, chief of corporate operations.

Disney spokesman Tom Deegan called the listing on the invitation a mistake by Disney’s Florida operations, adding that it wasn’t something that was cleared through corporate headquarters in Burbank.

What makes the goof somewhat intriguing is that it makes perfect sense to a lot of Disney observers, even though the added title would be largely symbolic. Some analysts see giving Ovitz the COO title as inevitable.

For one thing, Ovitz’s predecessor, the late Frank G. Wells, held the title of both president and COO. Most major corporations that have a separate president usually give the executive the added COO title. What’s more, some also believe that expanding Ovitz’s title could be used as a public show of support that might help blunt some of the ongoing Hollywood gossip that the Eisner-Ovitz relationship has been rocky.