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Contributing Writer at Fortune Magazine (and Fortune.com), Nasdaq.com, Fast Company, AARP and more.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has picked up a huge ally in his ongoing battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz: The families of Walt and Roy Disney. In a pair of letters to shareholders, the descendants of the company's namesake made it clear that they stood firmly behind the CEO and board, calling call Peltz and other activist investors “wolves in sheep’s clothing, just waiting to tear Disney apart if they can trick shareholders into opening the door for them.” Read more at Fortune https://lnkd.in/e_MTeE6s

Bob Iger just got the backing of Walt and Roy Disney's heirs in the proxy fight with Nelson Peltz

Bob Iger just got the backing of Walt and Roy Disney's heirs in the proxy fight with Nelson Peltz

fortune.com

M. Lauren S.

VP of Operations- US Market. Focus on solving the challenging facing the healthcare system and improving the health and experience for patients and families.

4mo

Anyone wanting to tear apart something that was originally created to allow parents and children to play together and have fun, should not be on the board. Disney Magic, creativity and innovation isn't enhanced by boardroom politics, in fact it detracts. Guests and cast members at the Disney Resorts have done enough to diminish the magic in recent years. I am glad the Disney family members are stepping up- and if I may make a suggestion, it would be great to have Disney family member sitting on the board.

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Eric R. Burgess

MBA, CEO/Co-Founder of Credtent, Chief Product Officer for psyML

4mo

He certainly has my support. Iger has been a great CEO and huge for this company that I care about so much. Activist investors who don't like his leadership should go attack some other company and leave Disney alone.

Lisa Hinton

IT/Marketing at Thermo-Kool

4mo

This comes as a shock, honestly, as Bob Iger and his board have year-after-year proven that they not only don't know their audience but are willing to compromise the very foundation that Disney stands upon in order to push their woke messaging. This company has become a festering wound of propaganda and over saturation of beloved classics for 'quick cash,' while simultaneously ruining that classic. Disney has single-handedly ruined both the Star Wars franchise and the MCU with this 'tactic' and then blamed fans for not throwing money at their poor messaging 'hidden' behind even poorer story telling. It's a terrible thing to back. And to be frank, does it matter if Iger is backed by Disney's heirs? If the opinions of Walt Disney's heirs meant anything, then they would be more involved with the Disney brand instead of sitting back and getting royalties. I would not be surprised if this isn't paid backing. It is the same tactic that Bud Light is trying to use to garner back consumers after last year's train wreck, woke advertisement. Lots of paid celebrities are now a little bit richer for drinking Bud Light again. In the end, I don't think families and fans of Disney care about heirs. They want good stories.

Henry D. Wolfe

Chairman, DaVega & Wolfe Industries Holdings - Author, "Governance Arbitrage"

4mo

First, they are completely ill-informed about Nelson Peltz. Second, if Roy Disney (the son, not Walt's brother) were still alive, I seriously wonder if he would be supporting the status quo. Twice, with Stanley Gold, Roy Disney was instrumental in functioning as an activist investor. In the first case the result was the installation of Michael Eisner and Frank wells in the Chairman and President roles respectively. The second time, it was to remove Michael Eisner after performance slippled bady following the death of Frank Wells.

Michael Snowden

Revenue Strategy Expert 📈 | Building Community within Your Company 💼 | Web3 & AI Enthusiast 🤖

4mo

It would be nice to see Disney brining forward more new IP again like Moana and Encanto. Sorry, Wish felt forced for the anniversary, and I think a lot of people are getting worn down from the remakes and the NEVER ENDING stream of Marvel and Star Wars content. I specifically mention Moana and Encanto for a few reasons: - Female leads finding strength they didn't know they had, even when others do not believe in them. Outstanding role models for my 8 year old daughter. - These are tales that introduce children to Polynesian and Columbian history and culture, both of which are communities that are underrepresented in film and television, and help children to see the world beyond their city or state. - Movies that are just great, no matter what age you are, with outstanding visuals, voice talent, music and production value. Plz Bob, let's turn this ship around. Bring back the $DIS we all love.

Scott Burleson

🚀 Let's build great products together using Jobs-to-be-Done 💡 🙌 JTBD advisor to executives and product teams 🎤New Product Blueprinting Pro 🤙 ☎️ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼!

4mo

I'm not sure if any company, in the history of time, has destroyed value as quickly as Disney had. Look at Star Wars, Marvel, ... endless movie flops. The only thing to save Disney would be change in leadership, and a retooling of many levels of leadership to get back to Walt's vision.

DeeAnn Martin

Information Security Cloud Compliance Consultant

4mo

I hope they fight till Disney is gone. When countries won't let you show your movies that's pretty bad. So sad, you used to be kid and family friendly, it's time for you to go.

Mark Brezinski MD,PhD,CPT

Physician, Scientist, Medical Educator, and Entrepreneur (LightLab Imaging) with more than 25 years at Harvard and MIT.

4mo

You can’t lose $250 billion in 2.5 years and expect to stay in power. That is a bigger loss than the GDP of Greece and all but about 50 countries.

Dolores Neira

Business Consultant @ Performance Outcomes & Associates | INSPIRATIONAL Keynote Speaker

4mo

My two cents for adding comments on this discussion is in a pure and innocent manner talking from what I suppose the eyes of the toddlers that frequent the theme parks, (with the financial backing of the parents), would think. Those who were in charge before Iger returned and deciding the fate of the Disney organization were steering it into ruin. The innocence was quickly being replaced with political correctness. I have been an annual ticket holder for many years and am not anylonger but still love my Disneyland. I did not appreciate being pulled out of my imaginative glory and into real life challenges. Take it for what it's worth but please stop. I just want to sing with the parade dancers and fly around on the Peter Pan ride. Oh, and I'll give you one more cent for good measure, my Tio Walt, (that's how I refer to him) would be beside himself if he knew what it costs to take a family of four to his park! Last I checked, it's upwards to one thousand dollars! The Board should know that as well make it right! 👨👩👧👦

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