Nelson Peltz Praises Disney Board Chairman James Gorman; Believes New CEO Will Be Announced Next Year
Despite losing a second proxy battle and selling his stake in the company, activist investor Nelson Peltz still has his eyes on The Walt Disney Company.
Months after being vanquished by Bob Iger and the Disney board, Peltz has weighed in on Disney’s CEO succession plan.
Speaking at the CNBC Delivering Alpha Conference, Peltz praised new Disney board chairman (and former Morgan Stanley head) James Gorman, noting that he was a “good man” who would conduct a thorough search for Disney’s next head executive.
Photo:Morgan Stanley
“He will get a respectable CEO in there,” Peltz said before noting that he believed the company would find its new CEO before the end of next year.
Peltz Has Sold His Last Remaining Shares of Disney Stock
Reflecting back on his failed proxy battle, Peltz blamed index funds for the loss.
“Index funds did not want me to win,” he said.
Nelson Peltz
The activist investor’s latest comments come just days after it was revealed that Peltz’s Trian Fund Management had sold its final stake in Disney last quarter.
While Peltz’s bid to join the Disney board was unsuccessful, Trian made roughly $1 billion trading Disney stock.
Disney’s CEO Search
As for Disney, the company has promised investors that it will identify its next CEO by the beginning of 2026. To do so, they will lean on Gorman’s experience managing the CEO succession at Morgan Stanley.
Photo: Deadline
“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new CEO, which we now expect to announce in early 2026. This timing reflects the progress the Succession Planning Committee and the Board are making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract in December 2026,” Gorman said.
(Photo by Hou Yu/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
Going forward, it looks like all eyes will be on Gorman.
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