Did Nelson Peltz learn a lesson from DuPont?
In his battle for a board seat at Procter & Gamble that could be decided today, Nelson Peltz may have learned a few lessons from his experience at DuPont.
Peltz stopped short of an all-out proxy battle at the consumer products giant and only demanded that he be added to the board slate.
That has not stopped a bitter battle at P&G that has run into the millions of dollars.
Still, Peltz has a good chance of success with his demand.
It was a different story at DuPont.
While Peltz ultimately prevailed, his success came by accident as former CEO Ellen Kullman nominated a blue ribbon slate of directors who shared his views on splitting up the company and reviving a long courtship with Dow.
One of the directors, Ed Breen, ended up as CEO after DuPont reported a bad quarter, with sales and earnings trends moving in the wrong direction.
We do know Peltz has a proclivity to target companies with female CEOS, a charge he denies.
Others say female CEOs, like Kullman, are placed in no-win situations.
It had long been known the DuPont’s various pieces weren’t working together very well together, and a culture that held the company together for more than two centuries led to a shrinking, risk-adverse enterprise.
Two spinoffs that took place during Kullman’s time as CEO, the Axalta coatings business and Chemours seem to be thriving.
With, P&G, Peltz is dealing with a company that is already working to sharpen its focus and move faster to respond to market conditions. He also faces a male CEO.
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