Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2013; Tracy Britt’s age, her role at Berkshire and the rumours that she could succeed Buffett reflect that time. She did not become his successor: Greg Abel was later named to succeed Buffett as CEO, and she has since left Berkshire.
Tracy Britt, aged 28, has quickly become Warren Buffett’s new right hand. According to the Wall Street Journal, in just four years she has become one of the most influential people at Berkshire Hathaway, to the point of having her office next to Warren Buffett’s and chairing four of the group’s companies. Many rumours say she could be Warren Buffett’s successor on the day he retires.
But who is Tracy Britt, and what is the secret of her rapid climb?
Tracy met Warren Buffett for the first time in 2009. She arrived with a Harvard MBA and plenty of ambition, and got a job as a financial assistant at Berkshire.
That said, she had met Buffett back in 2006, after organising a trip to Omaha with her Harvard classmates to attend a talk called “Smart Woman’s Values”, which helped women learn about investing and finance. That talk is said to have motivated her to the point that she knew exactly what she wanted to do in the future. In fact, she set her sights on her main goal: getting into Berkshire Hathaway and working alongside Warren Buffett. Goal achieved.
Although she is 50 years younger than her boss, Buffett spotted her talent. He began taking her to meetings and giving her more and more responsibility, including researching companies before investing in them.
In fact, Buffett sent Tracy to Brazil to negotiate the purchase of Heinz. Although Buffett is discreet when it comes to talking about how he recruits talent, last month he spoke about her in the talk he gave to students in Omaha, saying that Tracy Britt could be entrusted with anything.
Sam Taylor, chief executive of Oriental Trading, a company Berkshire bought in November, describes Tracy as a very intelligent woman for her age.
Other people on Wall Street who have known her for ten years describe her as a woman who always stood out from her peers for her competitiveness and drive: she had a kind of inner compass that was always pushing her forward.
Janet Hanson, founder of 85 Broads, where Tracy worked as an intern, describes her as a woman capable of achieving anything she set out to do.
In short, for the powerful men of Wall Street, Tracy Britt is now a name they won’t forget, since she will probably play a very important role at Berkshire, if she doesn’t end up running the company, as the rumours suggest.
Tracy is without doubt a clear example of how, with hard work, effort, discipline and a clearly defined goal, we can achieve whatever we set out to do, however difficult it may seem.
Featured image: HBS1908, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
