Davesokol
We provide links to the best stories we’ve found on the web about the 2011 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. When reading the stories or watching the videos, always remember to keep an open eye to the writer’s biases, experiences, leanings and incentives – as well as to your own, of course. Also keep in mind the relevant subjects discussed in the meeting that just weren’t given enough media because of the Sokol affair, such as the insurance cycle.
The Audit Committee of Berkshire Hathaway has just concluded its report regarding Dave Sokol’s trading in Lubrizol shares. They found that “Mr. Sokol’s conversations with Mr. Buffett and others at Berkshire Hathaway were ‘intended to deceive’ and ‘its effect was to mislead.’ ” Now that the “hype” is unprecedented in terms of a Berkshire “conflict”, and that the noise levels are bound to get even higher, it’s important to try and separate what’s relevant.
Two updates to our posts: ONE – Carl Icahn really didn’t like at least one sentence in the NYT story we posted a few days ago – and wrote an “instant classic” of a letter to the editor. TWO – Stanford CG professors organize the Dave Sokol resignation issues and ask relevant questions in an 11-page PDF.
Much has been said and written in the days since the Dave Sokol story broke – most of it noise, speculation, personal attacks and so on. But there are some valid criticisms, questions and at least one new piece of relevant information in Andrew Ross Sorkin’s story today in NYT’s Dealbook. The new info seems serious: apparently Mr. Sokol bought shares one day “after he told Citigroup to indicate Berkshire’s interest in buying the company”.
Dave Sokol, CEO of MidAmerican and Netjets (both Berkshire Hathaway businesses) and heir apparent to Buffett’s CEO role, has left Berkshire and one of the reasons doesn’t smell too good. Reading the letter from Buffett discussing the resignation, it’s clear that he had to go: the mere appearance of a Berkshire “luminary” practically “front-running” Buffett and Berkshire would be unacceptable (we don’t like it but can’t call it, and we’d discount any strong opinion emanating from anyone other than Buffett or Sokol).
Dave Sokol of Bekshire Hathaway’s subsidiary MidAmerican has been taking on additional responsibilities (NetJets), but most tellingly, he’s getting more and more media exposure as well. Looking more and more like the CEO successor to Warren Buffett.
