Leaders.com
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
  • Master Classes
  • Business
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Executives
    • Marketing and Sales
    • Social Media
    • Innovation
    • Women in Business
  • Leadership
    • Personal Growth
    • Company Culture
    • Public Speaking
    • Productivity
    • Hiring
    • Social Issues
    • Leaders
  • Wealth
    • Investing
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Retirement
    • Venture Capital
    • Loans and Borrowing
    • Taxes
    • Markets
    • Real Estate
  • Master Classes
  • Login
  • Subscribe
Executives Nelson Peltz

Nelson Peltz is trying to get on the board of Disney (Photo by: Heidi Gutman/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

By Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel is a news writer for Leaders Media. He was the Fall 2021 College Fix Fellow and Health Care...

Full bio


Learn about our editorial policy

Jan 19, 2023

A Proxy War Against Disney

Activist billionaire Nelson Peltz is launching a proxy campaign to get a seat on the board of the Disney Corporation—earning him acrimony from the board of directors.  

Key Details

  • Disney’s board of directors continues to face leadership shakeups and stress following the abrupt ousting of CEO Bob Chapek for returning CEO Bob Iger. 
  • The board recently announced the departure of 15-year board Chair Susan Arnold, as the position has a 15-year term limit.  
  • On Thursday, January 12, activist investor Nelson Peltz began a fight that could place him on the board of directors. Trian Partners nominated him as a candidate for the board of directors, launching what Bloomberg calls an “all-out war against the company.” 
  • The company responded in a shareholder letter on Tuesday, January 17, saying, “Peltz does not understand Disney’s businesses and lacks the skills and experience to assist the board in delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem.”

Why It’s News 

Peltz is launching a war against Disney’s board of directors at a particularly vulnerable moment. Disney suffered a year of severe losses in 2022, which resulted in the ousting of the current CEO for 15-year veteran Bob Iger, who had previously led the company to the peak of the entertainment industry, bought Star Wars and 20th Century Fox, and launched Disney+. 

The company has proceeded to hemorrhage money since. Iger has not turned the company around in the two months since he returned, although the board is giving him time to implement ideas. This has left the company in a vulnerable position, which Peltz appears to be taking advantage of to earn himself a seat on the board. Trian claimed its nomination would help “restore the magic” of a company dealing with numerous “self-inflicted” injuries—noting the company’s overpaid leadership and leadership crisis.  

Disney has criticized Peltz and Trian for making strong accusations against the company without offering solutions to fix the company’s billion-dollar hemorrhaging problems. 

Backing Up A Bit 

Peltz is a billionaire, a chairman on the boards of Wendy’s Company, Sysco, and The Madison Square Garden Company, and a significant fundraiser for former President Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. He is 80 years old. 

As Fortune notes, Peltz’s nomination is supported by eccentric former Marvel CEO and Trump donor Isaac Perlmutter. Several board members have also expressed interest in Peltz returning as well. 

Santa Clara University Assistant Professor Jo-Ellen Pozner notes that the move “hearkens back to the days of swashbuckling corporate raiders,” showing a more cutthroat approach to corporate success than the more “genteel shareholder proposals” advanced by the current directors. “It feels like a throwback to the 80s.”

Home / News / A Proxy War Against Disney
Share
FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Related Stories

Regulators Struggle To Understand A.I. 

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff
Public Policy

16 hours ago

EU

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) has meant that world governments are struggling to understand the implications of AI as a disruption tool and thus aren’t able to meet the needs of writing regulations for it. 

Key Details

  • The White House released a blueprint in October to address many of the core economic and legal concerns with new technologies, such as algorithmic racial bias, data harvesting, and automation. 
  • The European Union proposed its Artificial Intelligence Act in 2021, litigating uses for AI that it deems high-risk and low-risk, but it hasn’t passed. 
  • Both major proposals were written before ChatGPT was released on November 30, 2022, which sparked four months of rapid innovation and demand for AI applications. 
  • The Chinese government has similarly stated its intention to limit AI, announcing on February 24 that the Ministry of Science and Technology will be monitoring the safety and uses of the technology. 
  • Smaller agencies like the New York City Department of Education and various financial institutions have limited uses of chatbots in specific applications. Still, national-level solutions have been limited, Bloomberg notes.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Meta Shelves the Metaverse … Quietly

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff
Tech

Mar 19, 2023

Metaverse

After pouring billions into it, Facebook’s delve into virtual reality appears to be a secondary consideration after layoffs and poor sales. 

Key Details

  • Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook parent company Meta Platforms appear to be shying away from metaverse, maintaining that the service has a future but quietly shifting the core focus of the company toward artificial intelligence (AI).  
  • On Tuesday, the company announced another round of mass layoffs, with 10,000 more Meta employees losing their jobs. 
  • On March 3, Meta cut the prices of its flagship Meta Quest Pro products by 33%. 
  • A report from The Verge that same day found metaverse users in the Horizon World’s virtual space only retained 10% of users as regular users. 
  • The metaverse has consistently lost money for the company, including $13.7 billion in 2022, causing investor pushback in an October 2022 investor call.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

A Bailout Eclipsing That Of 2008 

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff
Markets

Mar 18, 2023

FR

The Federal Reserve has handed out hundreds of billions of dollars in the past week to avoid a banking crisis—one that President Joe Biden is eager to prevent from happening again. 

Key Details

  • According to the Federal Reserve’s Thursday report, the central bank lent $297 billion in emergency funds from Friday to Wednesday, in addition to $153 billion in lending against their collateral using “discount windows.” 
  • The spike in loans marked the highest number of requests the Fed has received in decades, eclipsing the 2008 financial crisis’s $111 billion discount window and the COVID pandemic’s $51 billion, Axios reports.    
  • In response to the ongoing turmoil, President Biden called for Congress on Friday to tighten banking regulations and impose penalties on banks “whose mismanagement contributed to their institutions failing.”

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn
By the end of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which begins today, the pop star could reach billionaire status
Wealth

Mar 18, 2023

Moving Swiftly To Billionaire Status

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff
Apple is limiting hiring and pausing bonuses for workers company-wide in an effort to reduce costs.
Business

Mar 18, 2023

Apple Cuts Back In Its Own Way

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff
Twitter is shifting its ad strategy—bringing in more lesser-known brands seeking clicks rather than more prominent brands seeking exposure
Business

Mar 17, 2023

Twitter’s Shift In Ad Strategy

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff

Recent Articles

Productivity

Mar 17, 2023

Unlocking Your Inner Drive: How to Motivate Yourself

Make real progress by trying out these techniques for boosting your self-motivation.

Wealth

Mar 15, 2023

Secure Your Family’s Future With Generational Wealth

Find out how to set your family up for a bright future with generational wealth.

Business

Mar 13, 2023

Which of the 16 Work Personality Types Are You?

Work personality types refer to how individuals approach and engage with work tasks, coworkers, and their environments.

  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
Join the Leaders Community

Get exclusive tools and resources you need to grow as a leader and scale a purpose-driven business.

Subscribing indicates your consent to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Leaders.com
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Careers
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Member Login

© 2023 Leaders.com - All rights reserved.

Search Leaders.com