In a bid to address a year of setbacks and underwhelming performance, activist investor Ancora Holdings Group is encouraging The Walt Disney Co. to bring Nelson Peltz onto its board. Peltz, along with his firm Trian Fund Management, recently launched a proxy fight against the company.
According to an open letter penned by Ancora to fellow shareholders, the addition of Peltz or a qualified representative would be a valuable asset to Disney's board. Ancora criticizes the board for a prolonged period of ineffective governance, lackluster succession planning, polarizing actions, and sustained loss of value.
Disney has yet to respond to the letter.
Ancora places much of the blame for Disney's recent challenges, such as substantial streaming losses and box-office failures, on the board's shoulders. Despite arguments attributing these difficulties to former CEO Bob Chapek, Ancora stresses that the board played a significant role before, during, and after Chapek's tenure.
This development follows Disney's recent appointments of James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, and Jeremy Darroch, former CEO of Sky, as new directors. The appointments were made in response to shareholder challenges from both Trian and ValueAct.
