It’s exactly two weeks away from The Walt Disney Company’s 2024 shareholder meeting, where shareholders will vote on the company’s new board and put an end to hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz’s yearlong proxy fight with Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Peltz, the founder of Trian Partners, has nominated himself and Jay Rasulo, Disney’s former CFO, to join the board and been running a campaign to convince shareholders of their election. Meanwhile, Iger and the Disney board have encouraged shareholders to vote against Peltz’s bid. Several prominent business and entertainment figures have come out in support of Iger and Disney’s current 12-person governing team, chaired by former Nike president and CEO Mark Parker.
Grandchildren of Walt Disney and Roy Disney
In late February, the grandchildren of Walt and Roy Disney wrote two open letters to express their support for Iger. One of the more vocal family members, Abigail Disney, a granddaughter of Roy Disney, was a signatory in a letter calling the activist investors “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
Abigail Disney has spoken out against Iger in the past over his enormous pay package, which she believed was “insane,” but now she and her siblings—Roy P. Disney, Susan Disney Lord and Tim Disney—have teamed up against whom they referred to as “villains.”
“Bob Iger has grown this company in a modern world, and he continues to maintain a balance of creativity and profit,” the grandchildren of Walt Disney wrote in the other letter. “There have been challenging times, but this current management has adjusted and grown through those challenges.” The letter was signed by Walter Elias Disney Miller, Tamara Diane Miller, Jennifer Miller-Goff and Joanna Sharon Miller.
George Lucas, filmmaker and Star Wars creator
George Lucas, who is a Disney shareholder, issued a statement yesterday (March 19) saying he would use all of his shares to uphold the current board. “Creating magic is not for amateurs,” the filmmaker said in the statement. “When Bob recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved. No one knows Disney better.”
Lucas owns 37.1 million Disney shares, which he gained after selling his production company Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion in 2012.
“I remain a significant shareholder because I have full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob’s track record of driving long-term value,” he said.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase
“Putting people on a Board unnecessarily can harm a company. I don’t know why shareholders would take that risk, especially given the significant progress the company has made since Bob came back,” Dimon said in a statement last week.
According to Fortune, there may be a connection between the Dimon’s and Lucas’s statements. Lucas’s wife, Mellody Hobson, is the co-CEO of Ariel Investments, which has worked with JPMorgan Chase on investing in minority-owned businesses. She is also a member on JPMorgan Chase’s board, which she joined in 2018 as the first Black woman. Dimon attended the couples wedding nuptials in 2013.
The New York City Retirement Systems
The pension fund, a Disney shareholder, showed support for Iger on March 28, a week before the voting.”Disney’s management and board are focused on a strategic transformation, and as shareholders we believe that they should be given the time to execute on this,” NYC Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement to Deadline.”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.”