Peltz’s New Tactic in Activist Campaign: Supporting Iger

Here’s a new one in the annals of shareholder politicking. Activist investor Nelson Peltz, whose campaign for seats on Disney’s board has drawn an aggressive response from the company lately, declared on Monday that he is a supporter of CEO Bob Iger. Yes, after he has for weeks been assailing Disney’s poor performance, Peltz put out a statement saying his beef isn’t with Iger but with the Disney board. Riiiiight, we get it now. Peltz wants a seat on Disney’s board so he can support Iger, his best buddy!

It is true that Peltz’s campaign literature has talked a lot about what he sees as the board’s shortcomings. But many of his specific criticisms concern actions for which Iger has to bear at least some if not most of the responsibility. For instance, Peltz has blasted the company for not moving quickly enough to adapt to digital disruption, for a “poorly planned and executed” streaming strategy, for the “strategically flawed” Fox acquisition in 2019 and for public comments Iger made that “caused headaches.” More pointedly, Peltz has complained the board is too close with Iger, potentially affecting their “ability to objectively exercise their fiduciary duty to shareholders.” So if, as Peltz said today, he supports Iger as CEO, what would he do as a board member that’s different from what existing directors are doing? That is the core question about Peltz’s campaign, and one he still hasn’t really addressed.