How Buffett Hired The New Helzberg CEO

[Parsad]

Interesting little article on Beryl Raff who is the new CEO of Helzberg Diamonds.  Cheers!

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/chall/stories/DN-hall_06bus.ART.State.Edition1.3ab16c8.html

[ExpectedValue]

I wonder why the previous CEO resigned, I remember reading his book about selling the company to Buffett.

[Viking]

A couple of comments stood out to me. She is very happy to be working for the person she admires the most (not the company she admires the most).

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"He doesn't want to pressure a business into doing anything that inflates volume or profits and isn't long-term in nature," she says. "He wants you to and allows you to run a business the right way without the pressure of Wall Street, the banks and all of the other things Berkshire takes care of.

 

"It's not that he doesn't expect results, but he's understanding of the environment and has realism in the time frames of what can and cannot be."

 

Her biggest fear is disappointing him. But she believes her shot at corporate glory has arrived.

 

"I've had my ups and downs in my career, and none of them have been secrets," she says. "Everything I've done has just been rewarded by getting the most amazing job in the industry working for the person I admire the most. I'm having the time of my life.

 

[Rabbitisrich]

Yep, good point Viking. IMO, the public overemphasizes the risk that Buffett's replacements won't match his investing skill. The longer term danger is that Berkshire sans Buffett won't retain high quality managers, attract unusual or familial businesses, or receive special considerations (i.e. Berkshire with Solomon Bros., the Moody's conflict of interest, etc.). Who else can replace that reputational goodwill?

[kyleholmes]

One key thing that Leucadia said at there annual meeting was that over the next two years they will focus on buying companies with durable underpinnings as it is eaiser to run durable companies ...... which they said for them it was a strategy tied to there succession plan. Getting businesses even an 'idiot' can run as Buffett says is important as there is less dependence on the brilliance of management!

 

Buffett understands this and has been trying for year's to get Berkshire to a place were it has numerous businesses even an 'idiot' can run which helps Berkshire as they have the wind at there backs, not in there face! Anyone who has struggled in quick sand running a poor business and then switched to owning one with great economics knows how true this is, as the difference is incredible!

 

Boardmembers are right that Buffett can't be replaced on the investing or the business side, which even he has mentioned many times when he talks about the CEO's biggest job being getting the 'goodwill' so to speak that he has with businesses that Berkshire owns and ones that they could potentially own in the future. You can be rest assured though that Buffett has thought longer and harder about these questions than anyone in the world and that his answer to these questions will be a good one!