Activist investor Nelson Peltz and former Snapple Beverage Group Chief Executive Michael Weinstein appear to have won seats on the H.J. Heinz Co. board of directors, the ketchup maker said on Friday.

The two were part of a dissident slate of directors proposed by Peltz's Trian Group, which had sought five positions on the 12-member Heinz board.

They defeated incumbent Heinz directors Peter Coors, vice chairman of Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Mary Choksi, managing director of two investment firms.

The results announced on Friday are still preliminary and subject to review by each side, Heinz said in a prepared statement, adding that it expected certification by September 15.

Trian has pushed for Heinz to cut $575 million in spending and to reduce the amount it pays out to retailers to promote products, instead focusing promotional funds on marketing directly to consumers.

The company came back in early June with a cost-cutting plan of $355 million over the next two years, but it called the Trian plan vague and unrealistic.

The election of directors was held at Heinz annual meeting August 16. Some 60 million shares of the roughly 330 million Heinz shares outstanding were voted at the meeting itself, a sign of how close the vote was.

Sources familiar with the voting at the time had said Trian appeared to have won two to three seats on the board.

Said Heinz Chairman and Chief Executive William Johnson in the statement: I look forward to moving ahead constructively and working closely with the board to enhance shareholder value.