Two Ways Warren Buffett’s Protégé Handles Investments Differently Than Him
Written by
David Nadelle
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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As far as origin stories go, Tracy Britt Cool has a remarkable one. As a child, she showed business acumen and a drive to succeed way beyond her years, but it was after graduating from business school that her adventure truly began.
Britt Cool, 39, started at Berkshire Hathaway in 2009, when she was 25, according to The New York Times, and she spent a decade under the tutelage of Warren Buffett, one of the greatest financial minds in history. She got the job through sheer moxie, by mailing Buffett a letter saying she wanted to work for him and showing up to her interview with with a “bushel of corn and a batch of tomatoes” from her family’s farm, per a 2013 profile in The Wall Street Journal.
During her tenure at Berkshire, Britt Cool worked as Buffett’s financial assistant, eventually moving up to become CEO of the struggling cookware company Pampered Chef, chair companies like Benjamin Moore and Johns Manville and sit on the board of the Kraft Heinz company, the Journal reported in 2022.
Britt Cool left Berkshire in 2019 to launch the long-term investment partnership Kanbrick with her former colleague, Brian Humphrey, the Times reported. The firm focuses on building mid-size businesses, such as Marine Concepts, which manufactures a patented track-based custom boat cover system, and the direct sales company Thirty-One Gifts.
While Britt Cook took valuable experience and advice gleaned from the Oracle of Omaha to heart, she is quick to point out, “I’m not building a Berkshire 2.0. I’m building something different using some of the principles,” she told the Times.
CNBC’s “Make It” recently highlighted the two major ways Tracy Britt Cool is handling investments differently than her mentor, Warren Buffett.
Scale of Business
Whereas Berkshire Hathaway acquires large companies such as Geico, Benjamin Moore and Duracell, Kanbrick has its sights set on mid-sized companies owned by founders or families and helping them reach new levels of success. “Smaller businesses that are $10 [million] to $50 million in [earnings before interest and taxes] are sort of our sweet spot in size,” Britt Cool told the Journal in 2022.
It’s safe to say that there’s a healthy investment pool backing Kanbrick, but it’s still a start-up that is distancing itself from the operating styles of both Berkshire and traditional private equity firms.
“While auctions work great for cattle, we seek to work with owners who view their business as their baby and thus desire a long-term home and partner,” Britt Cool and Humphrey wrote in a 2022 Kanbrick shareholder letter reported by the Times.
Direct Involvement
One of the factors behind Buffett’s decades-long success is his commitment to investing in companies that already have an experienced management team that can continue running the show.
Kanbrick, on the other hand, offers more direct involvement. “In general, we have found that most mid-sized companies — including ours — have similar opportunities and challenges,” the company’s website notes. “KBS provides a people and purpose centric framework to address these challenges to build enduring organizations and drive sustainable growth.”
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