(Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co. rejected Nelson Peltz’s bid for a seat on its board, along with the activist’s nomination of ex-finance chief Jay Rasulo, saying the investor lacked new ideas and its former executive has been away from the media business for too long.

Disney has had no less than 20 “meaningful” interactions with Peltz since the Trian Fund Management founder dropped an earlier push for a board seat last February, the company said in a filing Tuesday. 

Those meetings included a Nov. 19 sit down in New York between Peltz and Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and a Nov. 21 phone call. During the call, Peltz “offered no strategic insights or proposed courses of action to address his concerns,” Disney said.

Disney’s board urged investors to back its own slate of nominees.

The board said Rasulo’s perspective on the media industry is “stale” after being away for eight years. His position as lead director at radio station operator iHeartMedia Inc. has “not produced strong returns,” according to Disney, which said his “outdated perspective on the business would be damaging to the ongoing strategic transformation underway.”

Trian declined to comment. Rasulo didn’t immediately respond to a request for one. Over the past two years, Peltz has criticized Disney for its spending, its succession planning and its decision to suspend its dividend. 

Disney also criticized Rasulo’s close ties to Ike Perlmutter, the former Marvel Entertainment chairman who was fired by Iger last year, saying it would inhibit his ability to work with the company.

Perlmutter supported Rasulo’s efforts to succeed Iger until he was passed over for the chief operating officer position in 2015, Disney said.

Perlmutter has been lobbying for Peltz’s appointment to the board and pledged billions of dollars worth of his stock to bolster Trian’s roughly $3 billion stake in Disney. 

As part of its filing, Disney said it was also rejecting three nominees put forward by Blackwells Capital, which has a much smaller investment in the entertainment giant. 

Earlier this month, Disney entered into an information-sharing agreement with shareholder ValueAct Capital as Iger seeks to stave off pressure from Peltz. Iger has had at least a cordial relationship with ValueAct’s CEO Mason Morfit for years. ValueAct said in January it would support Disney’s slate of board nominees at its next annual meeting, which is typically held in the spring but hasn’t been scheduled. 

As part of the filing Tuesday, Disney said Iger earned $31.6 million in the last fiscal year, less than the $45.9 million he made in 2021. He earned $15 million in 2022 for a partial year of service.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.