(Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said it has nominated Wally Weitz, the founder of Weitz Investment Management, to join its board of directors following the resignation of Tom Murphy, the former head of Capital Cities/ABC Inc.
The nomination was disclosed in Berkshire’s annual proxy filing ahead of the Omaha, Nebraska-based company’s April 30 annual meeting, and will be voted on by shareholders.
Murphy, a longtime friend of Buffett, decided last month to step down from Berkshire’s board following a bout with COVID-19.
That caused Berkshire to fall out of compliance with New York Stock Exchange rules requiring that a majority of board members be independent.
Weitz, 72, founded his namesake Omaha-based firm in 1983. It had about $4.1 billion of assets under management as of Dec. 31.
“Wallace Weitz brings to the board his substantial financial experience as an investor in public companies and as a director of a public company,” Berkshire said.
Berkshire’s board would have 15 members following Weitz’s appointment, including eight considered independent.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
