Disney appoints the executive chairman of Nike as the new chairman and opposes the entry of radical investors into the board.

According to news on the evening of January 12, Beijing time, Walt Disney announced today that its chairman, Susan Arnold, will step down after the annual shareholders' meeting, after which another director of the company, Nike executive chairman Mark Parker, will succeed as chairman.

Disney stressed that Arnold left because he reached the term limit. Arnold has been a Disney director since 2007 and became chairman at the end of 2021. According to Disney's board tenure policy, directors can only serve a maximum of 15 years. Disney says Arnold is highly respected on the company's board of directors.

Meanwhile, Disney said today that activist investor Nelson Nelson Peltz had launched a proxy battle for a seat on Disney's board. Disney has clearly expressed its opposition to this.

Disney executives and board of directors have been in contact with Peltz many times in the past few months, but Disney does not support Peltz's appointment to the board. As a result, Disney advised shareholders not to support Peltz at the annual general meeting.

But some analysts say the radical Peltz will not give up, and he is likely to force his way into the Disney board. Peltz plans to apply directly to investors for board seats, according to people familiar with the matter.