Activist investor nominates two to Disney Board, including himself
The activist investor Nelson Peltz nominated He and a former Walt Disney executive joined the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company on Thursday, continuing his battle with the entertainment giant over what he sees as a languishing stock price and mishandling of its leadership plan.
This is Mr. Peltz’s second proxy fight with Disney in two years. Last year he fought to get on the board, saying he would cut costs, revamp Disney’s streaming business and clean up succession planning. Mr. Peltz withdrew his demands in February as Disney implemented a restructuring plan and billions of dollars in cost cuts.
Mr. Peltz’s investment firm, Trian Partners, has been working to battle Ike Perlmutter, the former chairman of Marvel and one of Disney’s largest independent shareholders. In addition to himself, Mr. Peltz also nominated James Rasulo, who spent three decades at Disney, including as Chief Financial Officer.
Disney said the nominations of Mr. Peltz and Mr. Rasulo would be reviewed by a committee, which would make a recommendation on their proposed candidacy to the board.
“Disney has an experienced, diverse and highly qualified board of directors focused on the company’s long-term performance, strategic growth initiatives, including the continued transformation of its businesses, the succession planning process and enhancing shareholder value,” the company said. a statement.
The company’s shares fluctuated in early trading after Mr. Peltz’s action.
Disney is preparing for a proxy battle with Mr. Peltz. In November, the company added two power hitters to its board: James P. Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, and Jeremy Darroch, who previously headed British television company Sky.
Disney CEO Robert A. Iger had stepped down from that role in 2020, but returned two years later — replacing his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek — and now has a contract that expires at the end of 2026.
Mr. Iger said at the DealBook Summit in November that his return brought unexpected challenges. Some, he said, “were caused by decisions made by my predecessor, others are really just the result of a tremendous amount of disruption in the world and in our business.”
The company has also said that “robust” succession planning is underway, with the search extending beyond Disney.
Mr. Rasulo left Disney in 2015 after a rival executive, Thomas O. Staggs, was promoted to chief operating officer, making Mr. Staggs the board’s preferred candidate to succeed Mr. Iger. (Mr. Staggs stepped down a year later after board resignations left Mr. Iger in doubt about his ability to run the company.)
While at Disney, Mr. Rasulo was respected for his ability to handle difficult assignments, even though his personal style sometimes made him a feared figure. While serving as Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Rasulo aggressively implemented a major cost reduction initiative. Previously, he was chairman of Disney’s theme park division, where he oversaw a $1 billion renovation of the California Adventure park, opened Hong Kong Disneyland and laid the foundation for a complex new visitor management system at Walt Disney World. He joined the company in 1986.