I've just returned from my annual trek to Omaha and the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, and will share my thoughts and observations via this blog over the next week or so. Although I pretty quickly hit my tolerance limit in the Exhibition Hall where a broad array of wares are peddled by Berkshire-owned companies (and where I invariably drop a few bucks on gifts for my kids), I can't imagine ever tiring of the meeting itself or the opportunity to spend time with smart, successful people who share common interests.
The primary value of the weekend, of course, comes from the meeting itself. Many of the themes - and even some of the anecdotal stories - are consistent year to year, but wisdom doesn't get old. The thoughts Ishare will hit on topics that were of particular interest to me, and they won't necessarily be comprehensive, but feel free to ping me if youhave any specific questions that I don't cover.
I'll start with the fact that I was interviewed several days beforethe meeting about what I was looking to hear from Warren and Charlie Munger, and my broad response was that I was anxious to hear more about corporate governance in light of the David Sokol affair. As with most interviews, we had a lengthly discussion and a very small part made it through, but I'll make no apologies for things I've said. Shortly after the interview, Berkshire Hathaway's audit committee came out with their scathing report on the actions of David Sokol. That was effectively the first thing we had heard from Berkshire since Sokol's resignation, and I was extrememely pleased to read it. In 1991, Buffett famously said "lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless". That type of ruthlessness is way lacking in corporate America, and Berkshire Hathaway has been a beacon for all of industry interms of corporate governance. I was concerned that legalities or simply loyalty for past performance could get in the way of ruthlessly and publicly enforcing good governance. That was important for shareholders and important for American capitalism.
My next post will cover what Buffett had to say about the issue.