Tracy Britt Cool

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Tracy Britt Cool
BornSeptember 7, 1984
Manhattan, Kansas
Alma mater
OccupationBusiness executive, entrepreneur
EmployerKanbrick

Tracy Britt Cool (born September 7, 1984 in Manhattan, Kansas)[1][2] is an American business executive and entrepreneur who was widely noted as a Warren Buffett protege. She chaired four Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries before co-founding Kanbrick in 2020.

Background[]

Britt Cool was born and raised on a farm in Manhattan, Kansas, where, by about age 10, she operated her own produce stand,[3] negotiating with fruit and vegetable distributors throughout her teens and learning business from the ground up.[4]

She graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 2009,[1][5] where, as a junior, she had interned at 85 Broads, Bank of America and Lehman Brothers.[4] Britt Cool served as president of Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business (HUWIB),[4] and was voted "Most Likely to Become a Billionaire".[6] She was a member of the Zeta Xi chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta.[7] While an undergraduate at Harvard, in 2006 she co-founded Smart Woman Securities with future screenwriter Teresa Hsiao, which educates its members on investments.[4][2]

Career[]

Hired following her 2009 graduation,[4] Britt Cool became the financial assistant and noted protege of Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett.[8][5][9] In 2012, she was featured among 40 Under 40: Hottest Young Stars in Business by Fortune magazine,[10] then named to its 40 Under 40 list of emerging leaders in 2013.[11] In 2014, she was named to the Forbes list of 30 Under 30 influencers on global cashflow.[12]

In October 2014, she was named CEO of Pampered Chef.[5][13] Overseeing over $4 billion in annual sales and a workforce of over 10,000,[14] Britt Cool has chaired four Berkshire subsidiaries: Larson-Juhl, Johns Manville, Oriental Trading Company and Benjamin Moore,[11] and served on the board of H. J. Heinz.[12]

On September 18, 2019, Britt Cool announced her resignation from Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries, including her intention to step down from Kraft Heinz's board in the first quarter of 2020,[9] to co-found Kanbrick with former Pampered Chef CFO Brian Humphrey.[15] In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, she said that she wanted to work with and acquire "businesses too small for Berkshire",[8] mimicking its business model for smaller companies.[9]

She co-founded Kanbrick, a private equity firm in Chicago, Illinois, which acquired an interest in Thirty-One Gifts in July 2020.[15] Britt Cool is also a non-executive director of acquisition vehicle EverArc Holdings Ltd. which raised $340 million in an IPO.[16][17]

Personal life[]

She married Omaha attorney Scott Cool in September 2013. Warren Buffett walked Britt Cool down the aisle during the ceremony.[18]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Tracy Britt Cool, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler". CNBC. October 6, 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b Buhayar, Noah; Colby, Laura (2014-01-23). "Meet Warren Buffett's Top Troubleshooter: Tracy Britt Cool". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  3. ^ Rosenbaum, Eric (2014-10-30). "Advice from Buffett's 30 year-old right hand woman". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  4. ^ a b c d e Das, Anupreeta (June 11, 2013). "A Rising Star Emerges at Berkshire". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Leahey, Colleen (October 30, 2014). "Tracy Britt Cool: The education of Warren Buffett's protege". Fortune. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  6. ^ "How 29-year-old Tracy Britt Cool became one of Warren Buffett's most trusted advisers". Financial Post. January 21, 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Notable Thetas". heritage.kappaalphatheta.org. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  8. ^ a b Friedman, Nicole. "Warren Buffett Protege to Leave Berkshire, Start Own Firm". WSJ. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  9. ^ a b c Li, Yun (2019-09-18). "A Warren Buffett protege is leaving to start her own Berkshire". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  10. ^ "Fortune Celebrates 40 Hottest Stars in Business". sfluxe.com. October 31, 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  11. ^ a b "40 Under 40 2013". fortune.com. Fortune. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Tracy Britt Cool, 29 - In Photos: 2014 30 Under 30: Finance". Forbes. 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  13. ^ Leahey, Colleen (2014-09-17). "Warren Buffett's wrath: How Benjamin Moore almost broke his promise". Fortune. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  14. ^ Clark, Patrick (January 27, 2014). "Four Lessons from Tracy Britt Cool, HBS Grad and Warren Buffett's 29-Year-Old Confidante". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  15. ^ a b Mohamed, Theron (July 18, 2020). "Warren Buffett's former lieutenant quit to build her own Berkshire Hathaway — and she just closed her first deal". MSN. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  16. ^ Calatayud, Adria. "Acquisition Vehicle EverArc Raises $340 Million Ahead of London Listing". WSJ. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  17. ^ "IPO of EverArc Holdings Limited - RNS - London Stock Exchange". LondonStockExchange. 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  18. ^ McMillan Portillo, Caroline (October 28, 2014). "6 things to know about Tracy Britt Cool, a Buffett protégée and Pampered Chef's new CEO". bizjournals.com. The Business Journals. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
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