JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon spoke out in favor of The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger and the company’s current Board of Directors during the ongoing proxy battle against Nelson Peltz.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Endorses Bob Iger
Dimon told CNBC’s David Faber the following.
Bob is a first-class executive and outstanding leader who I’ve known for decades. He knows the media and entertainment business cold and has the successful track record to prove it. It’s a complicated industry filled with creative talent, requiring the unique expertise and engagement skills that Bob possesses. 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.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon
JPMorgan has a history of advising Disney but, according to CNBC, Dimon rarely weighs in on proxy fights.
Nelson Peltz, CEO of activist investor group Trian Partners, is vying for a seat on the Disney Board. Trian has nominated Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo. Trian published a “white paper” stating, “Disney’s strategic missteps and declining financial performance can be laid at the feet of its Board, which we believe lacks focus, alignment and accountability.”
Disney’s nominations for the Board are all their current Board members. Peltz wants to remove Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman.
During Disney’s push for shareholders to vote for their own nominations and not Trian’s (or Blackwells Capital’s), they released a video featuring Professor Ludwig Von Drake explaining how to vote, sent a letter highlighting their progress, and released a video attacking Peltz, Rasulo, and Ike Perlmutter, the former Marvel Entertainment Chairman supporting them. The grandchildren of Walt and Roy Disney also released statements supporting Bob Iger.
The annual shareholders meeting takes place on April 3, 2024.
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