But what makes the 51-year-old Rose a possible successor to Buffett? He has no background in insurance or investing, two of the big money-making arms of Berkshire Hathaway. Rose is also new to Berkshire, having come to it with BNSF only a year ago. But all that may not matter. In his letter, Buffett says the job of chief investment officer should be separated from that of chief executive in the future, and is grooming someone for the role of CIO. And it’s widely known that the two men are close to one another and have been since Berkshire became a minority investor in BNSF several years ago. In fact, Buffett confessed to trains columnist Don Phillips that he’s a railfan (or as we sometimes say these days, a man who loves trains).
Rose has run BNSF in somewhat similar fashion. In an interview with trains last year, Rose said this: “If we all have the same sense of direction, our jobs become a lot easier. Part of the CEO’s job is knowing when to stand out of the way.” Sounds a lot like the Warren Buffett way of doing things, doesn’t it? — Fred W. Frailey
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