Succession is high of thoughts for buyers casting votes in Disney’s proxy battle with Nelson Peltz.
Because the marketing campaign enters its ultimate lap forward of the leisure large’s annual assembly on Wednesday, with Disney forward as of Monday night time, some buyers are nonetheless deciding whether or not to again the corporate’s slate of administrators or to again candidates put forth by activist buyers.
Disney’s previous dealing with of succession is a key criticism that Peltz’s Trian Companions has raised in pushing for board seats for the billionaire investor and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo.
Disney repeatedly extendedBob Iger’s contract throughout his first stint as CEO, which led to 2020. When he returned to succeedBob Chapek in 2022, Iger stated he would return for 2 years. Months later, the board pushed his exit date to 2026.
Here’s a take a look at the numerous introduced and revised contracts Disney cast with Iger to increase his keep as CEO.
For some buyers, Iger’s many contract extensions are proof that the board was letting the CEO keep, fairly than encouraging him to sharpen his deal with discovering a robust alternative. Critics of Disney’s succession-planning failures additionally level to the appointment and abrupt ousting of Bob Chapek, months after his contract was prolonged.
Disney final month advised shareholders that its succession-planning committee and board are engaged in a “diligent and thorough succession-planning course of.” Discovering a brand new CEO and surrounding that individual with a robust group of senior leaders is a precedence, the corporate stated.
A decade in the past, when Iger’s departure date was prolonged for the third time in 4 years, he stated he was critical in regards to the finish date. “This time I actually imply it,” Iger stated in an interview on the time.
The board prolonged Iger’s contract in early 2017 as inside candidates to succeed him departed, and once more later that yr after Disney’s buy of a few of twenty first Century Fox Inc.’s leisure property.
In 2019, Iger advised buyers he deliberate to go away two years later when his then-contract expired. “I used to be going to say, ‘This time I imply it,’ however I’ve stated that earlier than,” Iger joked.
Shareholder advisory agency Glass Lewis acknowledged flaws in Disney’s earlier efforts to call a brand new CEO however stated its present succession-planning committee consists of credible members and inspired shareholders to assist the corporate’s slate.
Institutional Shareholder Companies, in the meantime, beneficial that Disney vote so as to add Peltz to its board and assist all however one in all Disney’s nominees, pointing to the board’s prior failings at succession planning. It didn’t endorse Rasulo, Trian’s different nominee.
Robbie Whelan contributed to this text.
Write to Sarah Krouse at sarah.krouse@wsj.com and Nate Rattner at nate.rattner@wsj.com
Supply: Live Mint