Nelson Peltz Calls Out Bob Iger, Disney Board For Underperformance 'On Every Measure'

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/nelson-peltz-calls-out-bob-iger-disney-
board-for-underperformance-on-every-measure

Trian Partners founder and CEO Nelson Peltz has nominated himself and 
former Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) CFO Jay Rasulo to Disney’s board as part 
of his ongoing proxy fight with the entertainment giant.

What To Know: Trian Partners previously announced it would nominate two 
directors at Disney’s 2024 annual meeting as part of a proxy battle at 
Disney.

Disney made it clear this week it “does not endorse” any of the candidates 
nominated by activist shareholders. Instead, the company urged 
shareholders to support Disney's 12 nominees.

In a preliminary proxy filing on Thursday, Peltz called out Disney for 
refusing to engage with its largest shareholder. Trian Partners announced 
last year that it owns close to 33 million shares.

"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," Peltz said.

“We will seek the support of shareholders for meaningful change in the 
Board's composition. It is time to ‘Restore the Magic' at Disney.”

To “restore the magic,” Trian Partners called on Disney to target 
“Netflix-like margins” of 15% to 20%, complete a CEO succession plan and 
align management pay with performance.

See Also: Netflix Stock to Soar – Bank of America Analyst Cites Strong 
Free Cash Flow and Global Dominance As Catalysts

Peltz made an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk On The Street” Thursday morning 
immediately after the proxy filing was released and further explained his 
firm’s push for changes at Disney.

“We love Disney and it saddens me that the board didn’t welcome me because 
our goal is just to work with them … and to help them make the company 
better,” Peltz said on the show.

“This board, from Bob [Iger] to every independent director, has 
underperformed the S&P on every measure: one year, three years, five 
years, 10 years.”

This is Peltz’s second proxy battle with Disney in the past two years. The 
activist investor told CNBC the board promised him changes last year and 
then “things got worse,” so he can’t continue to give them opportunities.

Peltz also suggested Iger shouldn’t have been paid nearly as much as he 
was in 2023 because company earnings were down, the stock price was down 
and “everything went bad.”

Reports from this week showed the Disney CEO’s compensation more than 
doubled last year to $31.6 million. He was paid a base salary of $865,385, 
stock awards worth $16.1 million, stock option awards of $10 million, 
performance-based compensation of $2.1 million and $2.48 million in other 
compensation.

“I don’t understand what this board is doing. I don’t know what they’re 
there for other than friends of Bob [Iger],” Peltz said.

Disney’s annual shareholder meeting is expected to take place in the 
spring of 2024. An official date has not yet been announced by the 
company.

Read Next: Bob Chapek Goes From Disney To Battling Apple: Inside New Role 
Announced For Former Media Executive

DIS Price Action: Disney shares were up 1.44% at $91.63 at the time of 
publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Bob Iger, photo by Josh Hallett, via Flickr Creative Commons


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