Berkshire Hathaway Director Olson resigns, Buffett opposes shareholder proposal
Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Berkshire Hathaway said on Friday that longtime director Ronald Olson would leave the board due to policy changes as he would require oversight after turning 80, except for directors except for Warren Buffett.
In a representative statement at the May 3rd Annual Meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska, Berkshire, the board said it unanimously urged its rejection of seven shareholder proposals, including three on the diversity of its subsidiaries and anti-discrimination efforts.
Berkshire also said Buffett’s compensation was $405,111 in 2024, consisting of his usual $100,000 salary and personal and home security.
Vice-Chairman Greg Abel is expected to replace Buffett as CEO, and Vice-Chairman Ajit Jain saw their compensation increase from $1 million to $21 million each.
Abel, 62, oversees non-insurance businesses such as BNSF Railway and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, while Jain, 73, oversees insurance businesses such as Geico Car Insurance.
Olson, 83, is a partner at the law firm, Tolles & Olson, and has been director of Berkshire since 1997.
He has left Berkshire’s 14-member board of directors due to new age restrictions in the Corporate Governance Guidelines. All other managers, other than Buffett, are under the age of 75.
Olson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Buffett controls 30.3% of Berkshire’s voting power, which results in exceptions for those who manage at least 5%.
The 94-year-old billionaire owns approximately 14.4% of Berkshire stocks. If an independent director wishes to remain with him, he will be permitted to remain as director upon retirement.
Shareholder proposals include resolutions by conservative investors reporting on how Berkshire will affect employees based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin and political views, and how it will affect employees based on risks from the subsidiary’s racial-based initiative.
The Berkshire board calls both reports unnecessary reports, with the subsidiaries setting their own policies and saying “Berkshire’s approach is simple – do the right thing according to the law.”
The board also opposed the proposal to establish a committee that oversees diversity and oversees diversity and inclusion.
He also said that the proposal to oversee independent directors of the risks associated with artificial intelligence is unnecessary and contradicts Berkshire’s decentralized culture.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel of New York, edited by Richard Chan)