The Walt Disney Company shared an important update ahead of its Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Disney has 12 seats to fill on the Board of Directors, and now, the company has announced its nominations for those Board seats.
Disney also commented on the Board nominations of Nelson Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo, who have been engaged in a proxy battle with The Walt Disney Company.
There are 12 nominees that the Disney Board of Directors recommended for election at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Here is Disney’s full list of nominees:
- Mary T. Barra — Chair and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors Co.
- Safra A. Catz — Chief Executive Officer of Oracle Corp. and its former President
- Amy L. Chang — former senior executive at Cisco Systems, Inc. and Google and a current director of Procter & Gamble Co.
- D. Jeremy Darroch — former Executive Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sky
- Carolyn N. Everson — former senior executive at Instacart, Meta Platforms, Inc. and Microsoft Corp. and a current director of The Coca-Cola Co. and Under Armour Inc.
- Michael B.G. Froman — President of the Council on Foreign Relations and former Vice Chairman and President, Strategic Growth at Mastercard Inc.
- James P. Gorman — Executive Chairman and former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley
- Robert A. Iger — Disney’s Chief Executive Officer, formerly also served as Chairman
- Maria Elena Lagomasino — Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of WE Family Offices and a former senior executive at JP Morgan Private Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank and a current director of The Coca-Cola Co.
- Calvin R. McDonald — Chief Executive Officer of lululemon athletica inc.
- Mark G. Parker — serves as Chairman of the Disney Board, is Executive Chairman of NIKE, Inc. and its former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Derica W. Rice. — former senior executive at CVS Health Corp. and Eli Lilly and Co. and a current director of The Carlyle Group Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., and Target Corp.
According to Disney, “The director candidates possess significant expertise in implementing strategic priorities while growing shareholder value across a spectrum of varied businesses, and have the skill sets, experiences and professional backgrounds representing a diversity of perspectives and characteristics that are particularly relevant to Disney’s business and strategic objectives.”
Disney clarified, “The average tenure of the current Board is six years, with seven out of twelve serving less than six years, and the Board is led by an independent chairman.”
Additionally, Disney commented on Nelson Peltz and James Rasulo’s nominations, stating, “The Board does not endorse the nominations of Nelson Peltz and James Rasulo put forth by Trian Fund Management, L.P. and its affiliates, led by Nelson Peltz and supported by former Disney executive Isaac Perlmutter (collectively, the “Trian Group”). The Board recommends that shareholders do not vote for the Trian Group nominees, and that they reject a related proposal from the Trian Group to amend the Company Bylaws.”
Further, Disney’s Board “does not endorse the nominations of Craig Hatkoff, Jessica Schell and Leah Solivan put forth for election as directors by Blackwells Onshore I LLC, Blackwells Capital LLC and Jason Aintabi (collectively, the “Blackwells Group”).”
This news comes following statements from Nelson Peltz, a long-time Iger critic, who previously stated that he “intends to take our case for change directly to shareholders.”
Jay Rasulo, Disney’s ex-CFO, stated, “The Disney I know and love has lost its way.” Rasulo left Disney in 2015 when Iger promoted Tom Staggs to COO. The two men argued that Disney has “woefully underperformed its peers and its potential.”
Disney has not shared the date of its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The meeting took place on April 3rd last year. In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.
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Why does the board have so few media-experienced people (barely experienced at that) and so many people who appear as somewhat insulated from consumer opinions in their industries?