Blackwells Capital Says Disney’s Board Lacks Transparency and Expertise
As part of their proxy battle to get seats on the Walt Disney Company Board of Directors, active investor group Blackwells Capital is making their pitch to investors.
Last week, Blackwells grabbed headlines when it said that Disney should use artificial intelligence to create stories and characters and help manage its parks. Now, the activist investor is also arguing that the current Disney board is lacking in expertise.
“Disney’s current Board includes several personal friends of Mr. Iger, six directors with full-time jobs as CEOs of major companies, five directors with no other independent board experience, three directors drawn from the Council of Foreign Relations and five directors with overlapping directorships,” Jason Aintabi, Chief Investment Officer of Blackwells said.
Photo: Dallas Express
“Disney’s Board lacks critical bandwidth and expertise in content, media, technology and governance best practices, and would greatly benefit from the perspectives and experience our director candidates contribute.”
The Battle Rages On
Unlike Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management, Blackwells has traditionally supported Bob Iger and the Disney board.
In a marked difference from Peltz, Blackwells is not looking to replace any Disney board members. Instead, they want to add their slate of candidates, which includes Jessica Schell, Craig Hatkoff, and Leah Solivan to the Disney board. Still, Blackwells has changes that it would like to see.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
“Electing Leah Solivan to the board of Disney, will add considerable technological and entrepreneurial expertise, and drive greater management accountability around Disney’s adoption of transformative technologies,” Aintabi said last month.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The battle between Disney and Blackwells will come to a head at Disney’s annual meeting on April 3.
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