Despite His Win, Proxy Battle Has Left Bob Iger “Humiliated and Humbled”

The long Walt Disney Company nightmare is seemingly over. After nearly 14 months of fighting, Disney shareholders voted against activist investor Nelson Peltz and his slate of Disney Board members, instead approving Disney CEO Bob Iger and his slate.

It wasn't close. Peltz lost by a two to one margin, sources told @sherman4949. Rasulo lost by 5 to 1 margin.

"That person characterized it as Peltz's largest loss ever." https://t.co/bqvx0wFnm5

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 3, 2024

Related: Bob Iger and Disney Are About to Make a Massive Mistake

While Bob Iger prevailed in his fight with Nelson Peltz today, the war is far from over. Peltz still owns a little less than two percent of the Walt Disney Company and does not seem to be going anywhere. However, this battle has not been a complete victory for Iger, even though Disney shareholders showed him a vote of approval today.

Disney and Trian Fund Management spent an estimated $60 million to convince Disney shareholders they had the right vision to lead the company into the future. Iger also got some high-profile votes of confidence from George Lucas, J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, and the grandchildren of Roy and Walt Disney.

But this battle has left Bob Iger “humiliated and humbled.” Before this proxy battle, Iger was returning as the savior of the Walt Disney Company after the disastrous run of former CEO Bob Chapek, but now he has shown weakness.

A former Disney executive, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, told CNN:

The fact that it has gotten this much traction tells you that there is a lot of dissatisfaction. And even if Iger wins, it’s not over. Humility is not a word that comes to mind with Iger at this stage of his career. But this has been a humbling and humiliating experience for him and the board. And one wonders after triumphing over Peltz whether they will learn any lessons from their mistakes or whether they will simply dismiss all of this — as they have before — as a nuisance and distraction.

The question now becomes, what does Disney CEO Bob Iger do next? The underlying issues at Disney that Peltz, Blackwells Capital, and other activist investors highlighted are still there.

The Disney Board still has to find someone to succeed, Iger, and there were very few new announcements for Disney to hang their hats on moving forward. And Disney fans were underwhelmed, to say the least, at Iger’s response to Univeral Studios opening Epic Universe and Disney World’s plans to counter that new theme park.

So, despite the win, Iger has been beaten down by this fight. We’ll have to wait and see how he responds.

How do you think Iger will respond? Let us know in the comments.