The US pension fund wants to push Warren Buffett out of the chairmanship of Berkshire Hathaway
On April 19, CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the US, said it would vote in favor of a proposal by a group of shareholders to replace Warren Buffett’s position as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. This issue will be voted on at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on April 30.
The proposal, put forth by the National Legal and Policy Center, calls for the replacement of the chairman of Berkshire while retaining the role of CEO.
“The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors. We believe these roles – there are different separations and responsibilities for a successful company. Those roles would be significantly reduced if held by a single person, weakening the corporate governance structure,” CalPERS said in the SEC filing.
Billionaire Warren Buffett. Image: CNBC |
Billionaire Buffett has run Berkshire since 1965 and he has about 32% of the voting rights and owns about 16% of the shares. The 91-year-old businessman has been dubbed the “Oracle of Omaha” for being one of the world’s most successful and closely watched value investors.
Berkshire’s board of directors opposes the proposal to replace the chairman and recommends that shareholders do the same. The company plans to have Buffett’s son, Howard Buffett, as non-executive chairman after Buffett leaves, and current Vice President Greg Abel will serve as CEO, according to the company. Reuters.
“The Board of Directors believes that while Mr. Buffett was CEO of Berkshire, he should continue to serve as Chairman of the Board,” the company said in a filing with the SEC.
CalPERS – which is said to have invested $2.3 billion in Berkshire stock – said it would support proposals for the company to improve reporting on its diversity and environmental efforts. Berkshire also opposes these proposals.
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