Close to two years after losing a proxy fight to longtime Disney boss Bob Iger, billionaire investor Nelson Peltz is still a skeptic.
Activist investor and Trian Partners founder Nelson Peltz said at a Florida event on Tuesday that Disney picked Josh D’Amaro as its new CEO because “Iger needs a reason to stay on.”
By Peltz’s telling, D’Amaro’s lack of entertainment experience — he has run the parks and experiences side of the Mouse House since 2020 — will give Iger an excuse to stick around.
Peltz said to expect an announcement from Iger saying, “Josh doesn’t know anything about the movie business, the entertainment business; therefore, I’m going to stay on and guide him.”
“Poor Josh,” Peltz said, with a laugh.
D’Amaro’s appointment as CEO was approved by Disney’s board in a unanimous vote led by former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, who managed his own succession at the bank.
D’Amaro “demonstrated a strong vision for the company’s future and a deep understanding of what makes Disney unique in an ever-changing marketplace,” Gorman said in a statement, and the division he leads was more than 70% of the company’s operating income last quarter. Iger, meanwhile, called D’Amaro the “right person to become our next CEO.”
Iger will remain at the company in a senior advisor role until the end of the year. This is Iger’s second retirement from Disney. He previously tapped Bob Chapek, who’d also run Disney’s experiences business before becoming CEO in early 2020. Iger returned from retirement in 2022 after Chapek’s bumpy, tumultuous tenure.
Peltz waged a proxy battle with Disney to gain board seats in early 2024, while criticizing its streaming division’s losses, unstable stock, and uncertain succession plans. He sold his Disney shares after shareholders voted to support Iger.
Peltz said D’Amaro has his work cut out for him when he takes over on March 18.
“I hope he’s given the opportunity to do it,” Peltz said.
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