Lubrizol share purchases “not a factor” in Dave Sokol’s resignation
Dave Sokol, a chairman of several Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries and widely tipped to be Berkshire chairman Warren Buffett’s successor, has resigned from the firm.
In a statement explaining Sokol’s departure, Buffett mentioned that Sokol had purchased shares in chemical company Lubrizol before suggesting that the Berkshire chairman purchase the firm. Berkshire announced on March 14 that it would be buying Lubrizol.
However, Buffett pointed out that Sokol had bought the Lubrizol shares without knowledge of how Buffett would react to the suggestion, or how Lubrizol would react if Buffett liked the idea.
“Neither Dave nor I feel his Lubrizol purchases were in any way unlawful.
He has told me that they were not a factor in his decision to resign,” Buffett said in the statement.
In a letter to Buffett, Sokol said he resigned because he wanted to use the time remaining in his career to focus on creating wealth for his family and philanthropic interests.
Sokol was chairman of Berkshire subsidiaries MidAmerican Holding Company and Johns Manville, and chairman and chief executive of NetJets.
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