 Before his tenure with Disney, Wells had worked for Warner Bros. as its West Coast vice president in 1969, then in 1973 as president, and in 1977 as vice chairman until he left the company in 1982.Disney directors Roy E. Disney, Stanley Gold and Sid Bass had ousted President and CEO Ron W. Miller in 1984.The Disney board then recruited Wells to become Disney's president and chief operating officer (1984–1994), along with Michael Eisner as chairman and CEO, and Jeffrey Katzenberg as head of Walt Disney Studios.