A group from the UC Davis business school pose in front of a nonprofit organization where they volunteered time during their trip. (GSM courtesy photo)
MBA student reflects on meeting world's second richest man
Note to the dean (PDF)
Dear Dean Biggart:
I can't tell you how impressed I was with the UC Davis students who visited here yesterday… [ More… ]
Business icon Warren Buffett shared insights on business and life with about 40 students from the Graduate School of Management who traveled to his Omaha, Neb., headquarters in February.
The students came from the three school programs — the Daytime MBA Program on the Davis campus and the Working Professional MBA Programs that meet in Sacramento and San Ramon.
Afterward in a note to GSM Dean Nicole Biggart, Buffett said, "Every year I am visited by 30-35 student groups from the country's most prestigious schools, and none has come up with an innovative idea that equals that of the UC Davis group."
Paul Rondas, a student of the Working Professionals MBA program and senior business systems analyst with Investors Bank & Trust in Sacramento, offers the following thoughts from his meeting with the world's second richest man and head of Berkshire Hathaway. And Buffett shares in his own words how the UC Davis students impressed him.
I was surprised and excited to learn that Katrina Ellis, one of our MBA professors, met Warren Buffett in Rocklin, Calif., during an opening of an R.C. Willey store, a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
I was even more excited to learn that he had accepted a request from her to bring some students out to Omaha to meet him. I have been a big fan of Mr. Buffett and am an avid investor, so I certainly knew what a special opportunity this was to actually have a chance to meet him in person.
I signed up for the lottery and was one of the 40 who made the cut.
Sunday, Feb 18
Investing of another type
Some students wanted to give something back to Mr. Buffett while they were in Omaha. We decided that arriving a day early to volunteer for a good cause was a great way to do it.
About 18 students, led by Jamima Iley and Krisy Donohoue, got it touch with Girls Inc., a national organization that helps young girls succeed in life. Mr. Buffet's first wife was a founding member of the organization, and his daughter is currently a member of the board.
Roberta Wilhem, manager of the facility, gave us a tour and set us to work on several projects: organizing a storage room, creating a database for the library, moving computers and tables into a new reading center and creating a large bulletin board for a fundraising event.
It felt great to be able to help out a good cause as a way to thank Mr. Buffett for his generosity to UC Davis, and it felt good to do some badly needed work over at the Girls Inc. facilities.
The place looked great when we left it, and I felt proud to be part of an MBA program that has students who want to give something back to a community.
First to volunteer in Nebraska
We were the first visiting school to volunteer while in Nebraska, and Mr. Buffett expressed his personal gratitude for our service and even wrote a complimentary letter (PDF) to the dean of the management school stating that UC Davis was the equal of any school that he has seen in the last 20 years.
I think it was a very positive reflection on the type of students that come to UC Davis and the professors' teaching philosophy.
Later that evening, we decided to get together as a group and take some time to get to know each other better. Although we met twice before the trip to do some planning, many students never had a chance to get to know each other because we are in different MBA programs.
Everyone was beginning to feel the excitement building for the meeting with Mr. Buffett the next morning, and this was a good chance to blow off some steam with some great food and a little conversation.
A Chinese perspective
I sat with a first-year Bay Area student who had just arrived from China to get his advanced education at UC Davis.
It was interesting to learn about his experiences growing up in China and about all of the economic and social changes he had experienced over the last 10 or so years. He also joked about his desire to go back and build a real estate empire when he returns.
Everyone had a really good time discussing how glad they were to be there and that the once in a lifetime chance to meet Mr. Buffett was less that 24 hours away.
Mixer with the Nebraskans
Once the University of Nebraska, Omaha, faculty got word that some students from UC Davis would be meeting Mr. Buffett along with them, they organized a student mixer on their campus.
This gave the students a chance to compare notes on their programs and universities.
The students from UNO were undergrads in the Portfolio Management program, and we were all curious about the program.
It was fascinating to learn that they actually manage several private investment funds — one worth several million dollars — as part of their curriculum.
I met several students who had never been to California before, and it was great to promote Northern California and UC Davis.
UC Davis business student Paul Rondas, right, presents a thank-you gift to businessman Warren Buffett. (GSM courtesy photo)
Monday Feb 19
A window into Buffett's investments
Monday was the day everyone was waiting for. I was very anxious to meet Mr. Buffet and see if he was everything I thought him to be.
But the trip schedule first sent us to over to Nebraska Furniture Mart to meet a third-generation owner and learn more about the type of companies that fit the Buffett investment criteria.
Nebraska Furniture Mart was founded by a Russian immigrant known around Omaha as Mrs. B. She could not read or write and spoke no English. It was an amazing place that had been through many challenges — from a computerized automation conversion in the early 1980s to a change in the sourcing of its products from China.
The presentation given by the employees at the company helped me to put things in perspective about what is important to Mr. Buffett: attention to the customer, quality service, focusing on what you know and do best, and being honest.
I found it refreshing to hear someone talk about the core values of a company — and not about how much money the company makes or how it is going to drive the competition out of the marketplace.
Meeting Mr. Buffett
This was the moment of truth of the entire trip — actually meeting Warren Buffett.
The bus dropped us off in front of a regular looking building that gave no indication that the second-richest man in the world and a cultural icon goes about his daily activity there.
I was in the third group of students to take the elevator up to the "Cloud Conference Room" on the top floor.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, there he was. I am sure that most people felt amazed at the fact that he was actually there just mingling among the students.
He spoke to us for about two hours and mixed life lessons and a few jokes along with his view of the world and investing.
Focused on living life simply
I immediately got the feeling that his answers to our questions focused on living life simply and ethically and seemed to match his investment style perfectly.
He rarely gave an answer to an investment question with specifics learned in our MBA program. He tended to use metaphors about lessons learned in his youth and growing up in Nebraska.
He also offered some sound investment advice and principles that all investors should use when making investment decisions.
- First, is the company in an industry of good economics (i.e., not an industry competing on price points)?
- Does the company have a consumer monopoly or brand name that commands loyalty?
- Can any company with an abundance of resources compete successfully with the company?
- Are the earnings on an upward trend with good and consistent margins?
- Does the company retain earnings for growth?
- Does the company reinvest earnings in good business opportunities and does management have a track record of accomplishing these objectives?
Lunch at Gorat's Steak House
The grand finale of the trip was being treated to a steak lunch at Gorat's Steak House by Mr. Buffett.
Although I wasn't one of the students, Mr. Buffett was kind enough to drive four students from UC Davis over to lunch with him.
One would expect that the students would have been driven over in a chauffeured limousine, but Mr. Buffett pulled up in very modest Cadillac Seville.
Making the pitch
After lunch, Mr. Buffett spent some time taking photographs with all of the students.
It was the perfect time for me to present him with an investment pitch that a few of us put together. As part of the trip planning process, we formed several committees, one of which was an investment committee.
The investment pitch included some of the highlights of a Northern California business that meets his investment objectives. It was also a great way for the students on the committee to learn how he analyzes a company as an investment possibility.
I was lucky enough to work with the CEO of a local and well-known private company on this project, who was kind enough to provide us with great information about his company.
Unfortunately, I have been sworn to secrecy on the company we presented and have yet to hear anything back from Mr. Buffett. He likes to keep his investment decisions very private to keep investors from jumping on board and raising the price.
Back home
Once we all returned back to California and had a chance to reflect, many of the students continued to communicate their thoughts and experiences on the group e-mail list that was set up for planning purposes.
All of the students expressed that they felt very lucky to have been given a chance to meet someone who is as famous, yet down to earth as Mr. Buffett. Some of them left with a new sense of direction in life, be it giving back to the community by volunteering on a regular basis or beginning to take charge of their personal investments.
On the home page: Warren Buffet, left, listens as UC Davis MBA student Paul Rondas pitches the idea of investing in a Sacramento-area company. (GSM courtesy photo)
I took away a new sense of pride in the university and the students in the MBA program.
And a great gratitude for people like Mr. Buffett and the local company's CEO, who regularly take time out of their busy days to give something back to other people.
Both of these people can live any lifestyle they choose. And they choose to live one of respect for others, humbleness, high ethical standards and a sense of community. I think that those qualities also sum up the UC Davis MBA experience as well.