{"id":1806885,"date":"2023-01-16T08:19:36","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T13:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1806885"},"modified":"2023-01-16T08:27:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T13:27:06","slug":"charles-gasparino-boardroom-activism-will-cause-tremendous-grief-for-disneys-bob-iger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/charles-gasparino-boardroom-activism-will-cause-tremendous-grief-for-disneys-bob-iger\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles Gasparino: Boardroom Activism Will Cause Tremendous Grief for Disney\u2019s Bob Iger"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcharles-gasparino-boardroom-activism-will-cause-tremendous-grief-for-disneys-bob-iger%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1806885&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><br \/>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Investors&#8217; appetite for woke corporatism can reach its limits, and it often begins with a decline in share prices. For further proof, look at what\u2019s going down at Disney.<\/p>\n<p>The tradition of excellence has been maintained for many years \u201cHouse of Mouse\u201d It was the epicenter political correctness. Investors largely ignored this circus (including a same-sex kissing scene in children\u2019s programming) because Disney\u2019s stock soared.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s over. Bob Iger, the long-serving CEO, died in 2020. His successor Bob Chapek was far less skilled as a manager and as a seller of wokeness. Pandemic <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/01\/11\/disney-ceo-bob-iger-rolls-back-chapeks-theme-park-price-hikes\/\">theme-park closures didn\u2019t help<\/a>. He was also <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/01\/10\/firefighters-back-desantis-plan-for-florida-to-control-disney-district\/\">crushed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis <\/a>for opposing a law that prevented schools from teaching sex ed to 6-year-olds and lost Disney\u2019s special tax status.<\/p>\n<p>His programming was a failure and his streaming strategy failed. Disney\u2019s stock collapsed so much that Chapek was shown the door just about two years into the job.<\/p>\n<p>Iger, 71, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/01\/09\/disney-ceo-bob-iger-orders-employees-back-to-office-4-days-per-week\/\">made his return to right the ship <\/a>He got more pain. His stock has been flatlined due to rising costs and streaming, which is eating into revenues as well as profits.<\/p>\n<p>A duo of nettlesome <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/01\/12\/nelson-peltz-set-to-clash-with-bob-iger-for-disney-board-seat\/\">activist investors\u00a0are now circling the company like vultures<\/a>. Dan Loeb\u2019s Third Point and Nelson Peltz\u2019s Trian Partners are unlike passive fund managers in that they use their ownership positions to advocate for changes they believe will lead immediately to\u00a0a higher share price, current \u00admanagement be damned.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/Disney_Peltz_24109jpg-20f69.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Disney_Peltz_24109jpg-20f69.jpg\" alt=\"Peltz wants Iger to focus more on Middle America programming.\" class=\"wp-image-25371958\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/Disney_Peltz_24109jpg-20f69.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/Disney_Peltz_24109jpg-20f69.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/Disney_Peltz_24109jpg-20f69.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/Disney_Peltz_24109jpg-20f69.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/a><figcaption>Nelson Peltz is reportedly looking to encourage more cuts to increase Disney\u2019s stock prices.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Both have huge stakes in Disney. <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/01\/11\/disney-snubs-nelson-peltz-names-nikes-mark-parker-chairman\/\">want Iger to focus less on programming that appeals to AOC <\/a>You can find more information about Middle America here. They need a cohesive streaming strategy, cost savings and many other things.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Particularly, Peltz should make Disney and Iger blush. He preaches \u201cconstructive engagement\u201d with companies he\u2019s targeting, but he\u2019s a longtime critic of Iger and has a significant, $940 million stake in the stock that he will likely add to as he gears up for war. Meanwhile, look what he did at GE: He defenestrated CEO Jeff Immelt just two years after acquiring shares because he believed Immelt couldn\u2019t make his numbers and the stock floundered.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>Immelt\u2019s successor went bye-bye about a year later for the same reason. The current management, which Peltz has installed, is working to dismantle one of the largest conglomerates in American history.<\/p>\n<p>OK, Peltz often gets his way and isn\u2019t known for his patience when his money is being wasted away as it was at GE. It is now certain that there will be a boardroom battle of the ages. Peltz asked for a board seat, and Iger said to him to &#8220;pound sand.&#8221; I hear that Iger is about upping the ante and filing a preliminary proxy in order to explain why he feels Peltz isn&#8217;t qualified for the seat.<\/p>\n<p>So far, Peltz says he doesn\u2019t want to pull a GE on Disney and break it up, and Iger can stay as CEO for the next two years. But based on his history, Peltz won\u2019t stand for getting the stiff-arm if Disney\u2019s stock doesn\u2019t start to move higher and fast.<\/p>\n<p>That could mean, in addition to everything else on Peltz\u2019s wish list, the shedding of Disney\u2019s so-called \u201cnoncore assets\u201d Profits will be increased. Bankers tell me sales of Disney\u2019s sports cable network ESPN, and maybe all of its ABC television network, are on the table and a real possibility to appease Peltz\u2019s desire for a higher stock price.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Also, most definitely <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/19\/how-a-top-disney-exec-helped-spark-ceos-ouster-and-lure-back-bob-iger\/\">on the table is Iger\u2019s job<\/a> if he doesn\u2019t make his numbers.<\/p>\n<h2>DJ Solly\u2019s last dance?<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/goldman-sachs-ceo-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/goldman-sachs-ceo-1.jpg\" alt=\"Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon\" class=\"wp-image-25371960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/goldman-sachs-ceo-1.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/goldman-sachs-ceo-1.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/goldman-sachs-ceo-1.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Top Goldman Sachs partners want David Solomon out as CEO, and could leak information to embarrass the company\u2019s board to pressure his ouster. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Never before had such a routine and well-telegraphed round on Wall Street caused so much controversy. But it seems nothing goes down quietly when it has David Solomon\u2019s fingerprints on it.<\/p>\n<p>As this column points out, Solomon is <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/23\/goldman-grumbling-grows-for-banking-giant-to-sack-ceo-david-solomon\/\">the beleaguered CEO of Goldman Sachs<\/a>. He\u2019s a polarizing figure inside the prestigious white-shoe investment bank \u2014 and it goes beyond his internally controversial side hustle as a DJ during the summer Hamptons party scene.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>A group of top partners wants him out and they may get their way if they can leaked enough bad stuff to embarrass Goldman board into making a change.<\/p>\n<p>Just as Solomon was set to announce a hardly dramatic, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/01\/09\/goldman-sachs-bankers-have-nickname-for-looming-mass-layoffs\/\">approximately 6% culling of its staff <\/a>(dubbed \u201cDavid\u2019s Demolition Day\u201d), The Post\u2019s Lydia Moynihan reported that Solomon callously ended Goldman\u2019s free coffee perk.<\/p>\n<p>While it may take more than a few leaks for Solomon to become a problem, these are indicators of poor management. They can be fatal at places like Goldman with its high-powered management. \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d management upheavals.<\/p>\n<p>Goldman&#8217;s culture is one of constant power struggle between traders and investment bankers. If one side is winning, the other will lose. <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/01\/11\/goldman-sachs-reviewing-cost-of-private-jet-travel-favored-by-ceo-david-solomon-report\/\">controls the balance sheet <\/a>and the other side is in power, change isn\u2019t far off.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You may recall how Jon Corzine (a future New Jersey senator) was replaced as governor by Hank Paulson (a future secretary of the Treasury). Traders Gary Cohn, Lloyd Blankfein, and Gary Cohn pushed Paulson &#038; Co. out of business when trading profits soared. Solomon was a long-standing banker who prodded Blankfein to leave during a deal boom.<\/p>\n<p>Solomon is now caught in the middle of Goldman CEO dancing amid higher trading revenues and a slowdown of deals. He also faces the imminent collapse of his retail banking venture. For him there\u2019s a couple of ways out: Pray for more deals and fast (difficult). Or finally find a merger partner that I am told he\u2019s been waiting to seize upon when asset values \u00addecline.<\/p>\n<p>Solomon will probably remain in his job if the merger is successful (with Goldman as the official buyer).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Investors&#8217; appetite for woke corporatism can reach its limits, and it often begins with a decline in share prices. For further proof, look at what\u2019s going down at Disney. The tradition of excellence has been maintained for many years \u201cHouse of Mouse\u201d It was the epicenter political correctness. Investors largely ignored this circus (including a &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1806888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[14436,15037,9620,5458,7758,11601,8118,10883,9621,3819,8172],"class_list":["post-1806885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-activism","tag-boardroom","tag-bob","tag-bongino","tag-charles","tag-disneys","tag-gasparino","tag-grief","tag-iger","tag-report","tag-tremendous"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1806885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1806888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1806885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1806885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1806885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}