Former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo Says “Disney Runs in My Blood”
When Nelson Peltz set out to make a second run at a seat on The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors, he made sure that he brought reinforcement.
Buoyed by millions of shares from former Marvel President Ike Perlmutter, Peltz recruited former Disney CFO Jay Rauslo to join him in his proxy battle against Disney.
Nelson Peltz
Rasulo originally joined The Walt Disney Company in 1986 as a director of Corporate Strategic Planning. Over the next thirty years, the Disney executive would work his way up to Senior Executive VP and CFO of The Walt Disney Company.
Photo: Variety
At one time, it looked like Rasulo would succeed Bob Iger as CEO. When Tom Staggs was named COO, however, Rasulo’s future became muddled. He shortly left Disney.
Rasulo Says He Still Loves Disney
Still, despite his unceremonious exit, Rasulo insists that he still loves Disney.
“My kids are Disney kids. My wife is a Disney wife. I had the opportunity to open up Hong Kong Disneyland, launched two new cruise ships. I ran Euro Disney (Disneyland Paris) … I love the company.”
Photo: AP Photo/Disney, HO
Today, Peltz and Rasulo sat down for a live webcast where the pair answered questions from Disney shareholders. During the clearly staged question and answer, Rasulo and Peltz made it clear that they were “not out to fire the CEO”
“I worked 15 years alongside Bob. I don’t think we ever had a cross word. I can work with Bob,” Rasulo asserted.
Has Disney Gone “Woke?”
While Peltz and Rasulo played their greatest hits, touching on executive pay, Disney’s “toxic” culture, and the studio’s recent box-offie struggles, they also touched on the perception by some that Disney’s films have been “woke.”
(Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney)
“I don’t think the shareholder [who lamented the latter] is alone. I think when I was at the company, and all the years [before], when people see the Disney name on a movie, they never said, ‘Can I take my family to [see it]? And will I have to explain what was going on between those people?’ … It was just guaranteed.”
For their part, Disney had vehemently opposed giving Peltz or Rasulo a seat on the board. With Bob Iger delivering strong results at the company’s last earnings call and Wall Street seeming bullish on Disney’s future, Peltz and Rasulo have a difficult path to “Restore the Magic.”
The Walt Disney Company
The battle between Disney and Peltz will come to a head at Disney’s annual meeting on April 3.
