US billionaire Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway has appointed Michael O’Sullivan as its inaugural general counsel, ahead of Buffett stepping down as CEO at the end of this year.
O’Sullivan joins from Snapchat-owner Snap, where he was also GC. He will take on responsibility for Berkshire Hathaway’s legal matters, establishing the GC role at the company for the first time. Berkshire Hathaway had previously relied on external legal counsel for its corporate matters. He brings more than two decades of legal experience advising companies on corporate governance, litigation and M&A. He will officially take up the new role on 1 January.
Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway has been run by Buffett for six decades. It has stakes in a diverse range of companies, including American Express, Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz and Occidental Petroleum.
O’Sullivan’s appointment coincides with several other senior leadership changes across its corporate, insurance and non-insurance operations, including the promotion of Charles Chung, the CFO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, who is replacing long-time chief financial officer Marc Hamburg.
In a statement, Berkshire Hathaway said: “These leadership appointments reflect Berkshire Hathaway’s practice of selecting leaders who are stewards of the company’s culture, demonstrate strong business acumen and judgement and enable Berkshire’s distinctive way of operating.”
O’Sullivan arrives after eight years at Snap, having previously spent more than two decades at Munger Tolles & Olson. He started his legal career at Sullivan & Cromwell back in 1992. Snap announced his planned departure back in September, replacing him last month with Zachary Briers – another Munger Tolles alumnus.
O’Sullivan’s arrival comes as Buffett plans to hand over CEO responsibilities to Greg Abel from the start of next year, though Buffett says he will continue to be involved with the company, including when it comes to investment decisions.
In other recent in-house finance moves, earlier this month UK fintech ClearBank hired former Financial Conduct Authority adviser Angela Roberts as group GC, replacing chief legal and governance officer Philip House.
Meanwhile, back in September, US asset management giant Vanguard hired Natalie Lamarque as chief legal officer from Principal Financial Group, replacing former KPMG legal head Tonya Robinson after less than a year in the role.
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