‘I’m a big boy’: Peltz to P&G

Nelson Peltz promises to mind his p’s and q’s if he wins a seat on the board of P&G.

“I know how to act … I know my fork is on my left,” the activist investor behind Trian Partners said on a Monday conference call with analysts and investors.

The cheeky response by the head of Trian comes after the consumer products giant rebuffed the hedge fund mogul’s attempt to join the P&G board.

Peltz feels P&G has lost market share to competitors because its innovation pipeline is “troubled” and may be “broken.”

The hedgie wants P&G reformatted into three distinct business groups. That is the best way to reignite innovation, he said.

To accomplish that goal, Peltz has been pushing to earn a seat on P&G’s board at the company’s annual meeting next month.

P&G thinks Peltz would be a distraction to the board and the progress the company is trying to make.

“P&G is successfully executing a winning strategy and has strong momentum,” the company said in a statement released hours before Peltz’ presentation. “We firmly believe now is not the time to risk derailing our progress by adding Trian’s Mr. Peltz to the P&G Board.”

Peltz said that his experience on the boards of Mondelez, Wendy’s and Heinz makes him equipped to revitalize P&G.

“Understanding consumers’ likes, dislikes, and where the trends are going” is important, Peltz said.