Davis Discusses P&G Activist Nelson Peltz, Overloaded Board of Directors

Partner Gardner Davis was quoted in a The Street article, “Peltz’s Battle Puts Spotlight on P&G’s Director Problem,” discussing investor Nelson Peltz and his activist attack on Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) board of directors.

Peltz is currently arguing that P&G’s directors are too overcommitted to devote attention to his campaign to join the board. According to BoardEx, P&G’s directors serve on average of 2.63 public boards, which is well above the average of 2.01 directorships for S&P 500 corporations.

Davis explained that although P&G’s directors “certainly have a lot of time commitments” because they serve on the boards for ‘A list’ companies, independent directors should serve on exactly two big public corporate boards if they want to maximize productivity. “Being on the boards of two different large cap board will help develop ideas. You will learn from the other directors and see how they react and bring those ideas to bear on company two,” he said.

The Street continues on by reporting that Peltz currently serves as a director for four other major public corporations and would likely need to step down in order to successfully serve on P&G’s. Davis commented on this by explaining “it is unfair to attack Peltz as overboarded because for him, this is his day job.”