These proxy advisers are for-profit firms that do not have the same vested interest in the financial success of the company as its shareholders.
The decision comes on the same day as a no-confidence vote for Mr. Eisner from the proxy adviser Glass, Lewis & Company, the second such organization to advise stockholders to withhold votes for the chief executive in two weeks.
Other comments, like those from the Business Roundtable, which represents chief executives of top American companies, also argued for greater disclosure of proxy adviser conflicts.
But the separation "is not a silver bullet," said Patrick McGurn, special counsel for Institutional Shareholder Services, the influential proxy adviser that recommended that shareholders withhold votes from Mr. Eisner in the election and that the company split the posts.
Equity Office Properties Trust said yesterday that the proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services had recommended that its shareholders vote for the proposed merger with affiliates of the Blackstone Group, the private equity firm.
Influential proxy adviser Glass Lewis is recommending Disney shareholders withhold their votes for Chairman George Mitchell at the company's upcoming annual meeting, partly because of revelations he hid a negative evaluation of Bob Iger during last year's CEO search.
The Jones Apparel Group, which has bid $354 million for the Maxwell Shoe Company, said yesterday that the proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services had recommended replacing Maxwell's board with five directors nominated by Jones.
In its report, the proxy adviser argued that Mr. Dell and his partner were offering a significant premium for Dell's shares, about 25.5 percent higher than where the stock was trading before word of the potential deal emerged.
Glass, Lewis & Company, another proxy adviser, made the same recommendation yesterday.
