One week before a highly anticipated shareholder vote, Walt Disney Co. sustained another blow as a second advisory firm recommended that investors elect billionaire Nelson Peltz to the entertainment giant's board of directors.

Peltz, the Trian Fund Management founder, has gained steam in the closing weeks of his proxy campaign against Disney's board.

On Wednesday, advisory firm Egan-Jones recommended that investors dump two longtime Disney board members — Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael B.G. Froman — to make room for Peltz and his running mate, former Disney executive Jay Rasulo. Last week, the influential Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. recommended Disney investors elect Peltz to the board but withheld an endorsement for Rasulo.

Earlier, a major proxy advisory firm, Glass Lewis, recommended that shareholders vote for Disney's slate of 12 director nominees, rejecting both Peltz and Rasulo as well as three candidates running on a competing slate from Blackwells Capital.

The contentious proxy campaign has become the latest headache for Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger.

Unlike in his first tenure, Iger has rushed to contain one brush fire after the next since he returned to the Burbank company in late 2022.

He reorganized the management structure, slashed costs and has tried to tackle several troubling trends, including accelerated pay-TV cord cutting, which has hurt Disney's profitable linear television business. The company is still attempting to recover from COVID-19-related closures that stymied Disney's theme parks, cruise lines and theatrical business and from the tumultuous tenure of former CEO Bob Chapek.

The Trian group holds more than $3.5 billion of Disney common stock, including the shares owned by former Marvel Entertainment Chair Ike Perlmutter.

"Disney has lost its way over the past decade. Shareholders have suffered greatly, losing tens of billions of dollars in value," Trian has said on its Restore the Magic website. "We believe the root cause of Disney's underperformance is a Board that lacks focus, alignment, and accountability."

Egan-Jones agreed with some of Trian's assessments.

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