Meeting Warren Buffett

For the last four out of five years, BYU has been invited to send a small group of students to attend a Q&A session and lunch with Warren Buffett. A good friend of mine encouraged me to apply for the trip, and I was selected to attend. Prior to leaving, the group met with Bill Child, a businessman who owned RC Willey prior to its acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway. He shared with us his experience with selling his business to Warren Buffett and explained to us how our visit would go.

The next evening, we flew to Omaha, Nebraska for our visit. Omaha just happened to be in the middle of a snowstorm, so after circling the airport, we finally landed and made our way to our hotel.

I have to interject a quick thought here - while the primary reason for this trip was to meet with Mr. Buffett, I have to emphasize the value of trips such as this in terms of getting to know fellow classmates. While this was a quick trip, it was a great opportunity to build stronger relationships with those who I see on a regular basis, but haven't had a chance to really get to know.

Friday morning we arose early and our entire group met to review again the format for the meeting (six total universities in attendance, Mr. Buffett rotates through the schools and they each ask a question in turn) and to prepare our questions. We left early so that we could get a good seat up close, which was totally worth it. I was sitting one row away from Mr. Buffett. When he arrived, he let us know that we could ask him questions about anything except which investments he was considering. Questions ranged from how he judges character to ethics to concerns about the economy to his heroes. I was impressed by Warren Buffett's wit and humor, along with his sincere passion for what he does. Several times he mentioned that he wakes up every morning and is excited to jump out of bed to go to work. It was also apparent that Mr. Buffett values integrity. One quote that I particularly liked was "Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding. Lose reputation and I will be ruthless."

Following the two hour question and answer session, we all drove to Piccolo Pete's, a local restaurant and were treated to lunch and root beer floats. After we ate, Mr. Buffett took the time to take pictures with everyone individually (about 200 people). These aren't just ordinary pictures either - Mr. Buffett likes to make it fun by getting down on his knee and "proposing" to the women, letting you hold his wallet, or pretty much any other fun pose you can think of.

Once we wrapped up the photo shoot, we headed back to the airport to head back to Provo. While it was a quick trip, it was a unique opportunity to meet with and learn from a legendary businessman.

—Malorie Lewis, OB/HR, Class of 2011