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Possible Buffett Successor Resigns
March 30,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on March 31, 2011
A possible successor to Warren Buffett, David Sokol, has resigned his position as chairman of several
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) and
(NYSE: BRK.B) subsidiaries.
In a release issued Wednesday in the form of a letter, Buffett said the resignation took him by surprise. Sokol wrote in his resignation letter that he had no future plans and was resigning for personal reasons.
Sokol's resignation letter reads "As I have mentioned to you in the past, it is my goal to utilize the time remaining in my career to invest my familys resources in such a way as to create enduring equity value and hopefully an enterprise which will provide opportunity for my descendents and funding for my philanthropic interests. I have no more detailed plan than this because my obligations from Berkshire Hathaway have been my first and only business priority.
Berkshire Hathaway owns a number of home furnishings retailers, including
Jordan's Furniture;
Nebraska Furniture Mart;
RC Willey Home Furnishings;
Star Furniture; and
Cort Business Services.
Buffett said he had not asked for Sokol's resignation, and that Sokol had mentioned to him in the last couple of years the idea of resigning two times for the same reasons outlined in his letter.
"Both times, I and other board members persuaded him to stay," Buffett wrote. "Berkshire is far more valuable today because we were successful in those efforts."
Sokol worked closed with
MidAmerican; and
NetJets; and
Johns Manville.
He is also credited with the idea to acquire chemical company
Lubrizol,
which is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. In his letter, Buffett mentions that particular acquisition, and goes on to explain that Sokol owns Lubrizol stock.
Buffett outlines the timing of Sokol's purchases in his
letter where he emphasizes the timeline.
"Dave's purchases were made before he had discussed Lubrizol with me and with no knowledge of how I might react to his idea," Buffett said. "In addition, of course, he did not know what Lubrizol's reaction would be if I developed an interest ....
"Neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful," he continues. "He has told me that they were not a factor in his decision to resign."