Disney, Facing Activist Investor Pressure, Adds 2 Board Members

The Walt Disney Company, bracing for a second proxy battle with the activist investor Nelson Peltz, reinforced its board on Wednesday.

James P. Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s chief executive, and Jeremy Darroch, who formerly ran Sky, a British television company, will join Disney’s board early next year, according to a securities filing. “Their appointments reflect Disney’s commitment to a strong board focused on the long-term performance of the company, strategic growth initiatives, the succession planning process and increasing shareholder value,” Disney said in a statement.

The board’s chairman, Mark G. Parker, who is the executive chairman of Nike, said in a statement that Mr. Gorman was “integral to Morgan Stanley’s well-managed succession process over the past year.”

Francis A. deSouza, a technology executive who has served on the Disney board since 2018, will not stand for re-election at Disney’s annual meeting in the spring, leaving the company with 12 directors.

While a search started in April, according to Disney’s filing, the board reinforcements were announced as multiple activist investors circle the company. Most notably, they include Mr. Peltz, who has been jockeying for multiple seats on Disney’s board and is aligned with Ike Perlmutter, a disgruntled former employee who is one of Disney’s largest independent shareholders. Mr. Perlmutter, who sold Marvel Entertainment to Disney in 2009, was pushed out of the company in March.

Representatives for Mr. Peltz and Mr. Perlmutter did not respond to queries.

“We have to obviously contend with them in some form,” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said about activist investors earlier on Wednesday at the DealBook Summit. “I’m certain that the board will hear them out in terms of what their plans are, what their ideas are.”