LightShed Ventures partner Rich Greenfield is responding to activist investor Nelson Peltz vying for a seat on Disney’s board as the media industry experiences a “dramatic shift” in viewer behavior.
A preliminary proxy statement filed Tuesday by The Walt Disney Company revealed the huge sum of money former Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Geoff Morrell made in connection with his time at the entertainment giant.
Morrell’s tenure as chief corporate affairs officer lasted less than four months. He started the job in January 2022, about a month and a half after Disney announced it was hiring him, and announced his exit in late April.
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He told his staff at Disney at the time, having “realized” that the role was “not the right fit” for “a number of reasons” and that he had “determined to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.” , after speaking to then-CEO Bob Chapek, according to an email from FOX Business.
Geoff Morrell, BP’s SVP of US communications and external relations, is photographed at the company’s downtown office. (Photo by Tom Williams/CQ Appeal) (Photo by Tom Williams/CQ Appeal/Getty Images)
The preliminary proxy statement that Disney filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlined the details of Morrell’s $8.365 million salary package for fiscal 2022, including a salary of $489,500, a $2.75 million sign-on bonus -dollars, stock awards, option awards and other compensation. The hiring bonus, Disney said, is “primarily intended to replace lost compensation from his former employer,” oil giant BP.
According to the filing, he received $500,000 to “cover expenses incurred by Mr. Morrell in relation to his family’s international relocation” by joining Disney. The company also gave him $500,000 in June 2022 to “accommodate his unique circumstances, including expenses incurred by Mr. Morrell, who was in the process of relocating his family internationally.”
| ticker | security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 99.05 | -0.85 | -0.86% |
His compensation was approximately $119,500 for each of the 70 days a week he worked at Disney. The Wall Street Journal previously reported on his compensation.
A person at Disney told The Wall Street Journal that the “realized value” of Morrell’s compensation for fiscal 2022 is expected to be about $2 million lower because some performance-based payments did not carry over.
Participants are reflected in the Disney+ logo during the Walt Disney D23 Expo in Anaheim, California on September 9, 2022. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The SEC filing said Morrell would be entitled to over $2.5 million in residual salary through the end of his original employment contract, $1.5 million equal to a target bonus, and a buyout of the home he owned in California if he “successfully satisfies all of the conditions of his post-contractual consulting agreement and the indemnity.”
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According to the preliminary proxy statement, a “third party” purchased the home on Disney’s behalf in the summer of 2022 for the original purchase price. As of October last year, the property hadn’t been sold, but Disney “will realize any gains or losses on it” if it does, not Morrell, it said.
The preliminary proxy statement also provided insight into the compensation of other Disney executives in fiscal 2022, such as Chapek and CEO Bob Iger.
Iger returned to Disney in November for two years to become CEO, having previously held the title from 2005 to 2020 and serving as executive chairman until 2021. Chapek had run the company since February 2020, not long before the pandemic triggered lockdowns around the world.
The newly painted Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is seen with the crest to celebrate the theme park’s 50th anniversary on Monday, August 30, 2021 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Disney is fighting a move annulment (AP Photo/John Raoux, File / AP Newsroom)
The Chapek-led company faced a period of political turmoil in early 2022, including around a Florida state law preventing third-grade classrooms from teaching sexual orientation in kindergarten.
Disney’s preliminary filing on Tuesday comes amid a proxy battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz and the Trian Group. Peltz is seeking a seat on the company’s board of directors.
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The entertainment giant’s stock traded at about $99 on Wednesday, up about 11% since early 2023 and down about 34% over the past year.
Disney has not responded to a request from FOX Business as of press time. Morrell declined to comment.
Adam Sabes contributed to this report.