Burbank Entertainment giant Walt Disney has appointed longtime Nike executive Mark Parker as the new chairman of its board of directors. After this year’s shareholders’ meeting, Parker is scheduled to succeed Susan Arnold, whose term of office is ending. Disney announced this on Wednesday after the US stock market closed.
In US companies, the board of directors, like the supervisory board in German companies, is superior to the executive board. However, the body there usually has a higher management and less strong control function. Management itself is often one of them.
Disney recently experienced a sudden change in leadership: In November, long-time CEO Bob Iger came out of retirement and replaced the hapless CEO Bob Chapek, who had to resign after less than two years in office. However, Iger only wants to take over the top post for two years.
That is why Parker, as head of the board of directors, is also to lead a newly established body that will advise the group on the search for a successor. Parker is already the chairman of the board of directors of US sporting goods giant Nike, where he was CEO from 2006 to 2020. He has been on the board of directors at Disney since 2016.
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Disney also rejected an application by major investor Nelson Peltz and his hedge fund Trian Fund Management for a seat on the board of directors. That could cause explosives and further conflicts. Peltz is known for aggressively interfering in the management of companies and is considered a critic of Iger.
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