This Possible Warren Buffett Successor At Berkshire Walks Away From It All: Tracy Britt Cool's Story

Tracy Britt Cool, a former Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) executive, was profiled in a July 2022 New York Times piece titled “A Warren Buffett Protégée Strikes Out on Her Own,” which takes an in-depth look at Britt Cool’s upbringing and her job working for the famed investor, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.

Britt Cool History: After Britt Cool graduated from Harvard Business School at age 24, she decided to send a letter to Buffett asking for a job at Berkshire. To her surprise, Buffett responded yes and in 2009 she began working as the “financial assistant to the chairman,” a job that Buffett made up for her. 

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In just 10 years, Britt Cool went from working in a made-up position to working as one of Buffett’s “three Ts," a group made up of Berkshire's managers who worked closely with Buffett. The “three Ts” were Todd Combs, Ted Weschler and Britt Cool.

As Britt Cool worked her way up, she became known as Buffett’s protégée and the frontrunner to be Buffett’s successor once the now 91-year-old investor retired. Yet in 2020, Britt Cool walked away from it, something that is unprecedented at Berkshire. 

Making New History: After leaving her position, she teamed up with former colleague Brian Humphrey to form Kanbrick, a private equity investment firm. According to the firm’s website, Kanbrick is “a long-term investment partnership focused on acquiring and building great companies.”

When asked by the newspaper about Kanbrick’s company ideals, Britt Cool responded, “I’m not building a Berkshire 2.0 … I’m building something different using some of the principles,” adding that Kanbrick is "... no Berkshire copycat." She knows firsthand how successful he was and if Kanbrick can even come close, it will be a huge win.

Kanbrick is going to stay away from cryptocurrencies and risky start-ups for now as Kanbrick looks to establish itself in the investment community.

The firm has closed two investment deals so far and is targeting companies with annual operating profits of $10 million to $50 million. 

It seems that Britt Cool has it all planned out, and only time will tell if Kanbrick becomes as successful as Berkshire Hathway.

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Photo: Courtesy of  Fortune Live Media on flickr

This article was originally published on July 19, 2022.