This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Todd Combs, the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investment manager who helped Warren Buffett line up the $37.2 billion acquisition of Precision Castparts Corp., was named a director of the aircraft-parts manufacturer.
Berkshire Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg and Combs joined the board along with Buffett, 85, Precision Castparts said in a regulatory filing Thursday, less than a week after the acquisition was completed.
Precision Castparts managers including Chief Executive Mark Donegan were also named as directors, the document shows.
Combs, 45, has been taking on a larger role since joining Berkshire in 2010 to manage a portion of the investment portfolio. He has also helped weigh acquisitions and keep tabs on subsidiaries.
He began amassing a stake in Precision Castparts after joining Berkshire, putting the company on Buffett's radar. Last year, Donegan visited Berkshire's headquarters in Omaha to speak with Combs, and Buffett dropped in.
"I was very impressed by Mark, and of course I've been impressed by the company," Buffett told CNBC in August. "Shortly thereafter, I asked Todd to give them a call to see if they would be offended if we made a bid. And they didn't indicate they were particularly receptive, but they also indicated that they would listen."
As Berkshire has grown int a sprawling $300 billion conglomerate, Buffett has begun to delegate more. In addition to Combs, the billionaire has leaned on the company's other investment manager, Ted Weschler, to oversee a business and help out on other projects.
Buffett picked two other top deputies — Tracy Britt Cool and Greg Abel — to sit on the board of Kraft Heinz Co., the packaged-food giant that Berkshire helped form last year with investment firm 3G Capital.