David Sokol likely choice to succeed Warren Buffett

AP photo of 2009 Berkshire annual meeting

David Sokol seems increasingly likely to be tapped as Warren Buffett's eventual successor at Berkshire Hathaway, though Buffett has remained mum on the matter.

One of the questions asked of Buffett at this year's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha was why doesn't he publicly announce his choice for a successor and give that person an apprentice-type period of studying at the foot of the master investor.

Buffett's answer was interesting. Essentially, he said, it would make no sense for his successor to follow Buffett around all day to watch and learn, because mostly all Buffett does is read newspapers and annual reports and talk on the phone. What would be the use of pulling a valuable executive away from his daily tasks for that mundane job, Buffett asked?

Instead, it seems that Buffett and partner Charlie Munger are preparing Sokol, 52, for the job by gradually increasing his level of responsibility at the company.

Sokol is already chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., one of Berkshire's biggest companies. He stepped down as the company's CEO last year, which would seemingly give him more time to think about the big picture.

As this Bloomberg piece notes, Sokol helped oversee the $9.4 billion acquisition of PacifiCorp in 2005, and was more recently dispatched to China to look into Berkshire's possible investment in auto and battery maker BYD Co. Then, yesterday, Buffett announced that Sokol would be chairman and interim CEO of NetJets after company founder Richard Santulli announced he was stepping down.

Ajit Jain and Tony Nicely have also been mentioned as possible successors to Buffett, as had Santulli. As important as Jain (reinsurance) and Nicely (GEICO) are to Berkshire, they're focusing exclusively on one division of the firm, while Sokol's reach increasingly expands. The next CEO needs to have that kind of wide view of Berkshire.

Buffett is turning 79 later this month but still is on top of his game. Berkshire shareholders hope he'll be on the job for years to come.

But eventually there will be a successor. Buffett himself isn't commenting on the matter, and Sokol has in the past dismissed the chatter as a waste of time. But actions speak louder than words, and in this case the actions point to Sokol as the next Berkshire CEO.

Click here for a Barron's cover piece last year that came to a similar conclusion, and here to read one that just came out this afternoon. And finally, here is an AP photo of Sokol: