Walt Disney’s new finance chief steps into the role with a noteworthy victory: His former company fended off an attack from activist investor Nelson Peltz.

Disney on Monday named Hugh Johnston, the longtime finance chief of PepsiCo, as its next chief financial officer. Johnston joins Disney as the company faces activist pressure from Peltz, whose firm, Trian Fund Management, has built a sizable stake in the company and is threatening a proxy battle. Disney’s stock price has recently tumbled, under pressure from ongoing cord-cutting and the high cost of streaming. During Johnston’s 13-year tenure as Pepsi’s CFO, the company prevailed in its own battle with Peltz. Trian Fund Management in 2016 exited its position in Pepsi, after earlier pushing for a breakup of the global snack-and-beverage maker. Pepsi in 2015 named William Johnson, one of the firm’s advisory partners, to its board. The company meanwhile turned its focus to cost savings, while also raising dividends and buybacks. Its efficiency efforts paid off, as Pepsi hiked its earnings guidance in 2014 and 2015. Trian said at the time of the exit that the company had addressed many of its concerns, including costs, productivity and earnings growth. “I think you saw an improvement to the magnitude to where any potential spinoff or splitting up of the business—it dissipated," said Gerald Pascarelli, who covers Pepsi as a senior vice president for equity research at Wedbush Securities. The activist battle is just one of several challenges that Johnston will face in his new role. Deal making will be a key focus. Disney is looking at potential partnerships for ESPN. During the first nine months of the fiscal year, profit in the company’s sports segment declined 20%, squeezed by the continuing effect of consumers switching from cable TV to streaming. Disney is also in negotiations with Comcast’s NBCUniversal over the future of Hulu, the streaming video service. Disney said last week it expects to pay at least $8.61 billion for Comcast’s minority stake. The company had $11.5 billion in cash on its balance sheet as of July 1. “There are a lot of complicated questions about how all of this happens, and the CFO is going to be in the middle of all that," said Joe Bonner, a senior securities analyst covering technology, media and telecommunications at Argus Research. Disney declined to make Johnston available for an interview. Trian declined to comment. During the quarter ended July 1, Disney reported a net loss of $460 million, compared with a profit of $1.41 billion a year earlier. The company’s share price has declined 16% over the past year, closing at $84.02 Monday. Disney is expected to report quarterly results on Wednesday. Pepsi analysts described Johnston as a solid operator whose company is known for consistently topping Wall Street expectations. He led the snack maker through pandemic-fueled backlogs in global supply chains, and more recently through a period of persistent inflation. During the quarter ended Sept. 9, profit rose 14%, to $3.1 billion, as consumers continued to pay higher prices for brands including Cheetos, Lay’s and Gatorade. He steps into his new role at Disney during a tumultuous period in the company’s executive ranks. Bob Iger returned to Disney last year to serve as chief executive for the second time, after the company ousted former CEO Bob Chapek. The company in July extended Iger’s contract through 2026. Johnston succeeds Christine McCarthy, who stepped down in June to take a family medical leave, and who clashed with top executives over strategy issues, including how much money Disney spends on content, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. Kevin Lansberry, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, served as interim CFO. Separately, Pepsi on Monday named longtime company executive Jamie Caulfield as Johnston’s successor. Caulfield has served since 2019 as CFO of the company’s PepsiCo Foods North America division. He has also held senior-level finance roles across the company. Pepsi declined to make Caulfield available for an interview. Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world to know more.