Disney is currently facing the possibility of a proxy battle against investor Nelson Peltz. But, with the potential looming overhead, soon to be board member, James Gorman, who is in the process of handing over his company, remains steadfast, not worrying about the outcome.
“That’s all right,” Gorman had to say, stating that he is aware of what’s coming during a sit down with CNBC. Gorman serves as the CEO for Morgan Stanley. “You know, we have had a lot of battles in my life. That doesn’t bother me one little bit. I think the, you know, the challenge is to set up the conditions where the board has choices with talented candidates who are properly vetted for all the stresses these jobs have.”
Peltz’s own firm put him up for nomination, alongside James Rasulo, ex-CEO of Disney, for seats on the board. The two are helped by past head of Marvel, Ike Perlmutter.
According to Deadline, Disney is going to send the applications to a special committee to review them, but will remain skeptical of Perlmutter. The skepticism revolving around Perlmutter comes from current Disney CEO Bob Iger’s own dismissal of him, and for allegedly holding a “longstanding personal agenda” against Disney.
Before joining the board for Disney, Gorman is taking care to hand off his current title of CEO at Morgan Stanley, opting to step down from the company completely, rather than split his time between Disney and Morgan Stanley.
As well as joining the board soon, Gorman will have a direct hand in picking a successor for Iger, once he steps down. The road to landing a successor for Iger has been a very rocky one, with Iger even stepping down in 2020, only to come back two years later, per invitation from the board. Currently, Iger’s contract is up in 2026, and he has said that come the end, he is going to step down, rather than re-up again.
“I had my last operating committee meeting this morning,” Gorman said. “I had my last risk committee meeting, my last management committee. And I told them, I will never appear in one of these meetings again, ever. It’s not my job anymore.”
The handoff to Gorman’s successor is set to occur in early 2024.
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