Votes for Disney’s upcoming board of directors election are starting to trickle in, and activist investor Nelson Peltz, who has waged a months-long battle for two seats, has an early reason to celebrate.
Trian Partners, Peltz’s asset management firm, said Monday that its candidates have received votes from the nation’s largest public pension fund, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), and Neuberger Berman, a global asset manager. The disclosures came just days before Disney’s annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday, the deadline for investors to cast their votes.
“Both CalPERS and Neuberger Berman recognize Disney’s poor track record of corporate governance — which includes a persistent and significant lack of alignment between pay and performance and a failure to appropriately manage CEO succession,” Trian Partners said in a statement.
Disney announced its 12 board nominees in January, including CEO Bob Iger. A few days later, Trian Partners — which controls a $3.5 billion stake in Disney — formally nominated Peltz and ex-Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo for board seats. That kicked off a fierce proxy fight over the company’s future.
The firm released a 133-page paper in late March outlining Peltz’s plans for the company, which include completing a successful CEO succession, aligning performance-based compensation with shareholder value, and developing a strategy to reach margins similar to Netflix’s 15-20% by 2027.
“CalPERS believes Walt Disney Co will benefit from fresh eyes on its board of directors and voted its company shares in favor of candidates Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo,” the fund said in a statement to Reuters.
CalPERS owns about 6.6 million shares of the media giant, making it one of the top 30 investors in Disney. The pension added that its voting strategy is focused on the need for “independent corporate boards” and a “say in setting executive pay.”
Neuberger Berman said Disney’s board could benefit “from the addition of a fresh perspective and more independence.” The firm, which owns about 0.1% of Disney’s shares added, “We have concerns regarding the Disney board’s multi-year efforts to name a successor to CEO Bob Iger.”
Iger returned to the company in 2022, just a year after retiring, to serve a two-year term, which has since been extended. His eventual succession has become a key sticking point in this proxy fight.
What votes is Disney counting on?
On Disney’s side, the company has already secured the backing of George Lucas. With 37.1 million shares, he is largest individual investor in Disney.
Disney can also count on votes from some Disney heirs and Lauren Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs — who co-founded Apple and the animation studio Pixar.
Last week, the New York City Retirement Systems announced it is voting for Disney’s candidates.
“Nelson Peltz’s troubling performance on other company boards raise concerns about the value he would bring to the table, and we do not believe this would be beneficial to preserving shareholder value,” NYC Comptroller Brad Lander told Deadline.