Activist investor Nelson Peltz took aim at Disney CEO Bob Iger after the company revealed he would be succeeded by Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro.
Activist investor Nelson Peltz took aim at Disney CEO Bob Iger after the company revealed he would be succeeded by Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro.
Peltz notably launched two separate proxy fights against Iger while he was CEO in an effort to obtain seats on Disney’s board — both of which ended up failing. During the second proxy battle, one of the key issues Peltz targeted was the Disney board’s struggles with CEO succession after Iger’s previous successor-turned-predecessor Bob Chapek was ousted.
“I didn’t think there was any choice, because Iger needs a reason to stay on,” the Trian Fund Management CEO told The Wall Street Journal when asked about the Disney board selecting D’Amaro. “If he put the person in charge of entertainment as the CEO, he wouldn’t have an excuse to stay on.”
Iger, whose contract is set to expire at the end of 2026, will transition into the role of senior advisor and remain a board member, subject to the vote at Disney’s annual meeting on March 18. He will step down from the executive committee of the board after the annual meeting.
Peltz predicted that Iger will eventually put out a statement saying D’Amaro “doesn’t know anything about the movie business … therefore, I’m going to stay on and guide him.
