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Credit: Inside The MagicIt would seem that billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz and Disney’s former Chief Financial Officer are seeking to shake things up for the Disney Board of Directors and the company in general.
Billionaire Businessman Nelson Peltz Goes Against Disney’s Wishes, Files Official Paperwork for Board of Directors
Trian Partners has formally submitted paperwork to the SEC as part of their proxy dispute to secure two Board of Directors positions at The Walt Disney Company. Trian Partners has put forth Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, the former Chief Financial Officer of Disney, in their nominations.
This comes just days after the Walt Disney Company put out its list of nominees, including Bob Iger. Even more interesting is that Disney has clarified that they do not want Peltz or Rasulo to make it onto the Board of Directors for 2024. Per the official press release from Disney:
The Walt Disney Company Board officially disclosed its recommended slate of 12 nominees for election at the 2024 annual meeting. Also – the board does not endorse the Trian nominations of Nelson Peltz and James Rasulo.
Official Filing Means Business for Peltz
Trian Fund Management, holding a significant $3 billion worth of common stock in The Walt Disney Company, has taken a formal step by submitting a preliminary proxy statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This move is part of their initiative” to “nominate Nelson Peltz and James A. (“Jay”) Rasulo for the Disney Board of Directors election at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
Per the official announcement from Trian Partners this morning:
It is unfortunate that a company as iconic as Disney and with so many challenges and opportunities has refused to seriously engage with us, its largest active shareowner, about board representation. Instead of having a boardroom that would include directors with an ‘ownership mentality’ that can bring fresh perspectives to the Company’s challenges, Disney is resisting change and asking shareholders to endorse a Board comprised mainly of legacy directors (and their hand-picked successors) who have repeatedly failed to properly plan for CEO succession, misaligned the incentives of management, and failed to oversee or drive a strategy to get the streaming business to profitability or the studios to produce good content. Are Disney shareholders really to believe the current Board is able to heal these self-inflicted wounds?
– Nelson Peltz, Trian Partners CEO
These are strong words from Peltz, who is seeking a seat on the Board of Directors with the Walt Disney Company to shake things up and change things around financially for the House of Mouse.
Nelson Peltz’s primary goal is to “‘Restore the Magic’ at Disney.” Peltz and Rasulo advocate for the Board’s responsibility to establish attainable and ambitious goals.
They emphasize the importance of challenging the executive team to formulate a comprehensive strategy and execution plan for realizing these objectives. Trian expresses concern over what they perceive as a significant issue at Disney, where the goals are deemed vague, and execution has been lacking from their viewpoint.
Jay Rasulo, Disney’s former Chief Financial Officer, added the following:
Nelson and I are not about strategic platitudes or soft goals. As Disney Board members, we would expect to help drive Disney’s financial performance by working with other Board members to set demanding but realistic goals (to which executive compensation will be tied) and provide rigorous oversight to help ensure accountability for operational execution and capital allocation. Disney was founded and built by owners. We believe restoring the magic at Disney starts with a focused, aligned and accountable board, intensely committed to returning an ‘ownership mentality’ to the boardroom.
Once again, Disney has made it explicitly clear that shareholders are recommended to vote no on the proposal by Trian, which includes the nominations of Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo to the Walt Disney Company Board of Directors.