CCU students get to meet Warren Buffett
Twenty Coastal Carolina University students from the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration had the chance of a lifetime: they traveled to Omaha on Nov. 13 to meet Warren Buffett, the philanthropic billionaire and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
The students traveled with Gina Cummings, Wall Fellow director; Kenneth Small, assistant dean of students in the Wall College of Business; and Alex Klaus, the 2013 Young Alumnus of the Year for CCU.
During the trip, our students met and interacted with the legendary Buffett, and they also met other upper-level executives of successful companies and received a behind-the-scenes look at how those companies function. On Thursday morning, the students were greeted by Bill Gerber, CFO of TD Ameritrade, at the bank's new $250 million campus. They were given a tour of the facility and treated to lunch, followed by a presentation and a two-hour Q&A session with Gerber. The visit ended with a visit to Joe Moglia’s office and a tour of the accounting and finance department. Moglia, head coach of CCU's football program, is chairman of the board of TD Ameritrade.
The students also visited the Nebraska Furniture Mart, a Berkshire Hathaway company. They toured the facility with Ronald Blumkin, the grandson of founder Rose Blumkin, and discussed the furniture and electronics store business model. Afterward, they headed to Berkshire Hathaway for their meeting with Buffett.
Upon arrival at Berkshire Hathaway, the students were greeted by Buffett, and the Q&A session started. The entrepreneur answered questions for two-and-a-half hours on a variety of topics, from the glass ceiling to his investment philosophy. The students then met him for lunch and photo opportunities.
After lunch, the students toured Borsheim’s, a Berkshire Hathaway jewelry business, for a lecture on the jewelry business and tour of the facility.
They ended their day by visiting Oriental Trading Company’s distribution center and headquarters. The CEO of the company, Sam Taylor, who was a recent participant on “Undercover Boss,” made a presentation. The students then broke into groups and toured the facility. Luckily, the student group from CCU were paired with Taylor, and the tour ended with a Q&A session.
