Nelson Peltz nominates former Disney CFO for board seat in proxy fight

Disney activist investor Nelson Peltz is trying once more to get a seat on Disney’s board — this time, alongside former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo.

Votes on the nominations are expected to take place next spring during Disney’s 2024 shareholder meeting. In a press release announcing its intended nominees, Peltz’s Trian Fund Management took aim at Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger’s board for being “too closely connected to a long-tenured CEO and too disconnected from shareholders’ interests.”

Rasulo is a longtime Disney executive who left the company in 2015 after being passed over for the chief operating officer role, which went to Tom Staggs. Before serving as chief financial officer, Rasulo oversaw Disney’s parks and resorts business.

“The Disney I know and love has lost its way,” Rasulo said in a statement. “As independent voices in the boardroom, Nelson and I are confident that the combination of my decades of experience at Disney, Nelson’s significant boardroom skills and history of driving positive strategic change, and our combined consumer brands expertise and financial acumen, will be additive to the Disney Board.”

Company Town

Disney says ousted Marvel boss has ‘personal agenda’ against Bob Iger amid proxy fight

Disney blasted the activist investor’s agitation, calling it an agenda driven by former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, who was ousted from the company earlier this year.

Nov. 30, 2023

Disney issued a statement Thursday saying it would “review” Trian’s proposed nominees.

“Disney has an experienced, diverse, and highly qualified Board that is focused on the long-term performance of the Company, strategic growth initiatives including the ongoing transformation of its businesses, the succession planning process, and increasing shareholder value,” the Burbank company said. “The Governance and Nominating Committee, which evaluates director nominations, will review the proposed Trian nominees and provide a recommendation to the Board as part of its governance process.”

Trian didn’t disclose which two board members the firm was seeking to replace, though the latest update in Peltz’s proxy fight follows the recent appointments of Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman and former Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch to Disney’s board.

At the time, Trian said it would revive its proxy fight because the two appointments were not sufficient enough to “restore investor confidence or address the root cause behind the significant value destruction and missteps that this board has overseen.”