Disney shareholders back CEO Iger, rebuff activist shareholders who wanted to shake up the company

Disney shareholders have rallied behind longtime CEO Robert Iger

Disney shareholders rallied behind longtime CEO Robert Iger, voting Wednesday to rebuff activist investor Nelson Peltz and his ally, former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, who had sought seats on the company’s board.

The company had recommended a slate of directors that did not include Peltz or Rasulo.

The dissident shareholders had said in a preliminary proxy filing that they wanted to complete a successful CEO succession at Disney and align management pay with performance.

Disney announced in November 2022 that Bob Iger would come back to the company as its CEO to replace his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek, whose two-year tenure had been marked by clashes, missteps and weakening financial performance.

Iger was Disney’s public face for 15 years as chief executive before handing the job off to Chapek in 2020, a stretch in which Iger compiled a string of victories lauded in the entertainment industry and by Disney fans. But his second run at the job has not won him similar accolades.