Category: Appointments

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Appointments Berkadia

Berkshire’s Berkadia Adds Sales Team to D.C. Metro Office

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

In the midst of its record-breaking year, Berkadia, Berkshire Hathaway’s joint venture with Jefferies Financial Group, has added a new investment sales team to its D.C. Metro office, bringing on board Senior Managing Directors Walter Coker and Brian Crivella.

Coker and Crivella are regional leaders in multifamily sales, having executed over 200 sale and recapitalization transactions representing in excess of $15 billion of value and more than 40,000 units across their careers. They join an already robust investment sales team and will serve in a leadership capacity. The team will work closely with Berkadia’s D.C. Metro mortgage banking team and will report to Co-Head of Investment Sales Keith Misner.

“The D.C. Metro area, and the Mid-Atlantic region as a whole, is a mainstay for institutional and private client apartment investment activity. We have seen groundbreaking sales this year and the region is poised to continue to be a sought-after location for investment, which is why it is vital that we have the best talent on our team to support clients looking to transact in the market,” said Misner. “Few people are as experienced in the Mid-Atlantic region as Walter and Brian, and we’re thrilled to add them as leaders to our already powerhouse team in our D.C. Metro office. As we look ahead to what we know will be an incredibly active end of the year, and what we expect to be an equally active start of 2022, we’re confident that we’re bringing the best talent and opportunities to the table to enable our clients to achieve their goals.”

Berkadia has had a record-breaking investment sales year so far, closing more than $12 billion in investments sales across 400 transactions to date. The Mid-Atlantic region alone has totaled more than $1 billion across 35 transactions.

The Mid-Atlantic region alone has totaled more than $1 billion across 35 transactions.

This success comes on the heels of Berkadia’s increased commitment to serving institutional clients, who have played an outsized role in the industry’s post-COVID rebound.

At the start of the year, Berkadia acquired the apartment brokerage arm of Moran and Company, launching Berkadia Institutional Solutions, powered by Moran.

About Berkadia

Founded in 2009 as a 50/50 joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation (now known as Jefferies Financial Group), Berkadia is a third-party commercial mortgage servicer, as well as an approved lender for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD/FHA.

The company is among the top Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae multifamily lenders.

Berkadia owes its origins to GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation, which was acquired in 2009 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Five Mile Capital Partners LLC, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. Christened Capmark Financial, the company had $10 billion of originations in 2008 and a servicing portfolio of more than $360 billion before running into bankruptcy in October 2009.

In a deal approved by the bankruptcy court, Capmark sold its mortgage loan and servicing to the newly formed Berkadia in a deal worth $515 million.

The deal brought Berkshire into the heart of the commercial loan serving business, and the company has one of the largest commercial real estate servicing portfolios.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Appointments

Susan A. Buffett and Christopher C. Davis Appointed to Berkshire Hathaway Board of Directors

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway has announced that Susan A. Buffett and Christopher C. Davis have each been elected to the Board of Directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Susan Alice Buffett (60) is the daughter of Warren Buffett and is the Chairman of the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the Chairman of the Sherwood Foundation, each of which is a private, grant-making foundation based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Christopher Davis (54) is Chairman of Davis Select Advisors, an investment management firm that oversees over $25 billion in assets. He is a director on the boards of both Coca-Cola and Graham Co.

The appointments come less than a month after the death of longtime Berkshire Hathaway director Walter Scott Jr., who died in September at the age of 90.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Appointments Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Appoints David Harries, Executive Underwriter, E&P, UK

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has announced that David Harries has joined the company as Executive Underwriter, Executive and Professional Lines, UK.

“David will play a key role as we continue to expand our Executive and Professional Lines portfolio, and we are pleased to welcome him to our team,” said Vanessa Maxwell, Head of E&P, UK. “His great depth and breadth of underwriting and leadership experience further elevates our ability to problem-solve with customers and deliver highly customized solutions, backed by unparalleled financial strength and claims service.”

David has more than three decades of experience in both Lloyd’s and company markets in the UK. He was most recently Active Underwriter DCH386 and Head of Financial Lines at QBE Insurance. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen Mary University of London.

David is based in BHSI’s office in London.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Appointments Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty insurance Names Constanza Gállegos as Country Manager, Spain

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has added Constanza Gállegos to its leadership team in Europe as Country Manager, Spain.

Constanza has nearly 24 years of experience in the European insurance industry. Most recently, she was Head of Distribution, Europe, at QBE Insurance, where she spent 14 years in increasingly senior positions. She holds Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Economics & Bachelor of Business Administration degrees from Universidad Pontificia Comillas.

“BHSI has been expanding rapidly, bringing consistency and stability to customers across Europe,” said Chris Colahan, Head of Europe, BHSI. “With her extensive industry experience and relationships, Constanza will play a pivotal role in accelerating our growth in Spain, and we are excited to welcome her to our team.”

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Appointments Lubrizol

Breaking News: Chris Brown Replaces Eric Schur as Lubrizol’s CEO

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

There is a major leadership change at Berkshire Hathaway’s Lubrizol. Chris Brown has replaced Eric Schnur as CEO, and now has the title of President and Chief Executive Officer.

Schnur had served as chairman, president and chief executive since 2017.

As of this writing, Lubrizol has not issued a statement about the change in leadership, but has removed Schnur’s bio and his “Message from Lubrizol’s CEO” page from its website.

Lubrizol has been snakebit with fires recently, with a major fire destroying a Lubrizol plant in Rouen, France in September 2019, and its Chemtool plant in Rockton, Illinois, was gutted in a blaze on Jun 14, 2021.

The Chemtool fire has been determined to have been caused by a leak of mineral oil from piping in the area of work being performed by an employee of an outside contractor working on an insulation replacement project.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Appointments Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Insurance

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Enters Marine Market in France

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has launched a full line of marine insurance products in France and appointed Muriel Birre Julvécourt as Head of Marine.

The new marine offerings include: Inland Marine, Ocean Cargo, Stock & Transit, Project Cargo, Freight Forwarders Liability, Ports & Terminals, and Subsea Insurance.

“We are very excited to further round out our offerings for customers and brokers in France with marine insurance, backed by BHSI’s financial stability, long-view underwriting, and CLAIMS IS OUR PRODUCT® philosophy,” said François-Xavier d’Huart, Country Manager, France. “Muriel is well known in the local marketplace and we are excited to have her deep technical expertise and excellent leadership capabilities leading our entry into this new line.”

Muriel comes to BHSI with more than 25 years of marine underwriting experience. She was most recently Head of Marine at RSA Group. Before that, she held various management roles in Marine at Groupama Transport. She was a member of the Marine Committee of the French Federation for Insurance Companies (FFA) for nearly 10 years, and holds a master’s degree in Insurance Law from the University of Paris Panthéon Assas.

Muriel is based in BHSI’s office in Paris.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Appointments Lubrizol

Lubrizol Appoints Its First Chief Diversity Officer

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

As part of its ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion as a key enabler of business success, Berkshire Hathaway’s Lubrizol has appointed Cheree Aspelin as the company’s first Chief Diversity Officer. In this role, Aspelin will continue to advance the company’s organizational capability by further embedding diversity and inclusion (D&I) across Lubrizol’s workforce, culture, systems and processes.

Aspelin also will hold HR leadership responsibilities for culture, talent management, talent development and organization design and effectiveness.

Aspelin has been a tireless advocate for culture, diversity and inclusion throughout her career, most recently serving as senior director for Lubrizol’s culture and inclusion efforts. Her successful 25-year career has focused on culture, talent development, training, and change management roles, including leadership roles with BP and JP Morgan Chase.

The addition of Chief Diversity Officer is a significant step in Lubrizol’s on-going D&I journey. For years, the company has embraced policies and programs that recognize and nurture a diverse and inclusive workforce, including training related to bias and inclusion and a strong network of Employee Resource Groups. Forbes named the company as one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity in both 2019 and 2020.

The company believes additional improvements will lead to even greater innovation and success. The company’s D&I approach rests on three pillars:

• Owned by the Organization – All Lubrizol employees have a shared accountability to drive toward a more inclusive work environment. The company’s global D&I Council, Inclusion Advocates and Employee Resource Groups provide examples of shared ownership to raise awareness and offer opportunities for greater connection.

• Measured to Track Success – Many years of experience have taught us that we must have meaningful measurements to track success if we are to realize sustainable organizational improvement. The company adopted gender-based goals in 2019, committing to increase the percentage of women in senior leadership roles. In 2020, the company expanded its diversity and inclusion goals to address two additional areas of impact: increasing the representation of Black employees and Black senior-level leaders within the U.S. and expanding the geographic diversity of senior-level leaders across the company.

• Embedded into Systems and Processes – To be successful in these goals, diversity and inclusion are being further embedded into company systems and processes. The company has been updating and improving HR processes, including new ways of working related to internal job posting, candidate assessments and increased workplace flexibility options with the intention of attracting, retaining and promoting the best talent to help us achieve our business goals.

The company also has re-engineered its university scholarship and recruiting programs to ensure it is reaching more students traditionally underrepresented in the industry and is enabling hiring and promotion practices that help reduce bias and evaluate candidates in a consistent, objective and transparent manner.

“We are committed to building on the strength of our culture to ensure a truly inclusive environment where talented people can be their absolute best,” said Eric Schnur, Lubrizol Chairman, President and CEO. “An environment where different experiences, perspectives and ideas are not only welcomed, but celebrated. We are building a more capable company as a result, and Cheree’s appointment to Chief Diversity Officer furthers our commitment and will meaningfully advance our progress.”

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Appointments CORT

Berkshire Hathaway’s CORT Announces New President/COO

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s CORT, the nation’s leading provider of furniture rental and transition services, has announced the promotion of Mike Davis to President and Chief Operating Officer.

In his new role, Davis will be responsible for overseeing all operations and sales for CORT Furniture Rental, CORT Trade Show & Events, CORT Party Rental, 4SITE by CORT and Roomservice by CORT in the UK.

“Mike’s leadership experience across the organization gives him great insight and will assist driving client satisfaction and exceptional results across all of our businesses,” said CORT’s Chairman and CEO, Jeff Pederson.

Davis began his career with CORT in 1997 at CORT Furniture Rental in San Francisco. Over the years he has held executive leadership roles in both sales and operations, including Executive Vice President for CORT Furniture Rental and the Trade Show and Events Divisions. In 2016, Mike was promoted to Chief Operating Officer before his current promotion to President and Chief Operating Officer.

“In this new role I look forward to continuing to execute our long-term strategic plans as we recover from the impact of the pandemic,” said Davis. “We have an exceptional group of people at CORT, and I am confident in our ability to exceed our customers’ expectations as we grow and continue to adapt to their changing business needs.”

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Appointments Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Appoints Brian Robb Head of Cyber/MPL/Tech in the U.S.

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has appointed Brian Robb as Senior Vice President, Head of Cyber/MPL/Tech, in the U.S.

“We are pleased to welcome Brian to lead our Cyber, Miscellaneous Professional Liability & Technology E&O team in the U.S.,” said Anthony Tatulli, Head of Executive & Professional Lines, North America, at BHSI. “His expertise adds fuel to our efforts to expand our portfolios and deliver the sound, stable solutions customers are seeking now and for the long-term.”

Brian comes to BHSI after nearly 11 years at CNA Insurance, where his experience spanned both the underwriting and claims sides of the business. He was most recently Product Leader, Cyber/Media/MPL/Tech E&O. Prior to that, Brian held the positions of Cyber Industry Leader and Senior Claim Counsel, Global Cyber and Technology Claims, at CNA. He holds a master’s degree from City University of New York-Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, and a law degree from Brooklyn Law School. He received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Appointments HomeServices of America Real Estate

Intero Appoints New President

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Intero has announced that Joe Brown has been promoted to President from his previous role of COO, a position he held for the last two and a half years.

Scott Chase has been promoted to COO and will combine this with his leadership role at Intero’s Los Altos office.

John Thompson, Intero’s prior President, has returned to his former role as Chief Culture Officer.

Joe Brown joined Intero in October of 2015 after a successful stint at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, where he held numerous management positions, including President and COO of Bay Area operations. During his more five years with Intero, Joe has solidified himself as a key executive and has been instrumental to the company’s continued success. In addition to his role as President, he will continue to manage the Willow Glen office, one of the top real estate offices in the nation. In his new role as President, he will report directly to CEO Brian Crane, and will oversee recruiting and retention; culture, and staff coaching for the company’s 22 corporate offices.

Scott Chase came on board with Intero in November of 2018, bringing more than 15 years of experience after a successful stint as regional sales manager at Opes Advisors. Scott has a business philosophy that centers on planning and continuous improvement in skills, systems and teams to take care of our customer’s concerns around real estate. In addition to his role as COO, he will continue to manage the Los Altos office, one of the highest producing offices in the United States. In his new role as COO, he will report directly to CEO Brian Crane and will drive strategic growth, partnerships and expansion of the Intero brand throughout Northern California.

John Thompson, a founder of Intero, has been the glue that has helped keep the culture of the company together for the last 18 years. John will use his experience, talent, and sense of humor as he revises his role of Chief Culture Officer. In this position, John will support agent engagement, company culture and manage special projects.

“In our 18 years as a premier real estate services company, we have never sat on the sidelines and waited for change to happen,” said Brian Crane, Intero’s Chief Executive Officer. “We know that our leadership is one of the keys to our success and having the right people in the right positions is critical to helping us reach our goals. I could not be prouder to have Joe, Scott and JT in these new roles and know they will help the Intero brand continue to grow in 2021 and beyond.”

Intero, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., is a real estate services company with its headquarters in Cupertino, CA, the heart of the Silicon Valley. In addition to their 18-office corporate footprint, they have a franchise network that is comprised of more than 50 affiliates located in Alabama, California, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas.

© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.