Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

In the eagerly awaited annual report of Warren Buffett concerning Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A), he announced that he would be looking for a person or two to train and raise up to succeed him when the time arises concerning the investment side of business - something he has said would be a hard thing to do.

While most people know that Buffett and the Berkshire board have already chosen a replacement on the management side, the investment side has been the one area that they felt would be the hardest to reproduce.

Buffett said he wanted to find someone to "succeed me as Berkshire's chief investment officer when the need for someone to do that arises."

One of the key problems that Buffett faces in hiring that particular person is that they would enhance their marketability by having Berkshire on their resume. Buffett said concerning this that, "Being able to list Berkshire on a resume, would materially enhance the marketability of an investment manager. We will need, therefore, to be sure we can retain our choice, even though he or she could leave and make much more money elsewhere."

In a sense it seems that Buffett was using the annual report as a job board here, essentially filtering out those curiosity seekers or "players" in the market that would be counter to everything Buffett built.

He said concerning the person Berkshire needs: "We need someone genetically programmed, to avoid serious risks, including those never before encountered." Included in the thinking of the company would also be "independent thinking, emotional stability, and a keen understanding of both human and institutional behavior."

I find this fascinating as I knew this was probably the key succession problem they faced. To see them lay out there what they're looking for is pretty interesting and exciting to me. It also may be saying that there is nobody within the company that they see being able to fill this position and may be going outside the company as a result.

There are others that could be temporary fill-ins like Lou Simpson, who is 70-years old, who could be there temporarily if anything happened to Buffett, but his age precludes him from being a trainee that could fill in over the long haul. This will be fascinating to see who is eventually picked.