NEWS: Iger Critic Nelson Peltz Nominated Himself and Former Disney CFO for Seats on The Walt Disney Company’s Board of Directors

The Walt Disney Company has seen a lot of changes this year.

©Disney

A battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the company has led to a state takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. In the same year, Disney CEO Bob Iger led a complete restructuring of the company, including layoffs and job cuts near the 7,000 mark. Recently, the Walt Disney Board of Directors has gotten caught up in a proxy battle and things are starting to heat up.

Nelson Peltz — a long-time Iger critic — stated his intention, with his firm, Trian Fund Management, to seek more than two seats on the Board last month. Trian, which Peltz co-founded, said that it “intends to take our case for change directly to shareholders.”

©CNBC | Nelson Peltz

At the time, Disney noted that this proxy battle stemmed from a grudge held by Peltz ally, Ike Perlmutter — a former Disney executive who was fired by Disney earlier this year. Now, Nelson Peltz and his firm are causing more headlines after nominating himself and Disney’s ex-CFO for seats on the board, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

©Disney

Jay Rasulo, the ex-CFO, was once seen as one of Bob Iger’s likely heirs, but now says ““The Disney I know and love has lost its way.” Rasulo left Disney in 2015 after Iger promoted Tom Suggs to COO.

©Getty Images via The Hollywood Reporter

In his statement, he continued, “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.”

©CNBC | Nelson Peltz

The two have argued that Disney has “woefully underperformed its peers and its potential” in hopes of winning these seats on the board. It is unclear which current board members they will try to replace.

Disney has since made a statement regarding the nominations, defending its current board. “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 company said.