Wendy’s, the second-largest US hamburger chain, paid $657,514 for Chairman Nelson Peltz’s personal security last year.
Peltz, the founder and CEO of New York-based Trian Fund Management LP, has received more than $1.7 million from the company in the past three years for security, including guards and equipment, according to Wendy’s proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“It’s not the norm,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a management professor at Yale University. “For somebody who has a domestic portfolio of many companies, it’s much harder to justify this.”
Jonathan Doorley, spokesman for Trian at Sard Verbinnen & Co., had no comment.
Peltz, 70, has been on Wendy’s board since 1993 and served as non-executive chairman since 2007. As of April 1, he owned 4.1 percent and Trian owned 21 percent of Wendy’s, making him the largest shareholder. He also is a director at Ingersoll-Rand, Legg Mason and HJ Heinz.
The chain pays for Peltz’s security “because he serves as non-executive chairman of the Wendy’s Co.,” said Wendy’s spokesman Bob Bertini, who declined to specify what the funds cover.