David L. Sokol

David L. Sokol (born 1956) is an American business executive. He served as chairman, president and CEO of NetJets as well as chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, of which Berkshire Hathaway holds a 100% and 89.8% stake respectively. He resigned March 28, 2011.

Prior to his abrupt resignation in March 2011, David Sokol was widely regarded as the likely successor to Warren Buffett. Often referred to as Buffett's Mr. Fix-It, Sokol was tasked with rescuing underperforming Berkshire divisions Johns Manville and NetJets. Under Sokol's leadership Johns Manville was brought back on track and NetJets swung from a $157 million loss in 2009 to a $207 million gain in 2010.

Sokol purchased 96,060 shares of Lubrizol at a limit price of $104 per share between January 5 and 7, 2011. He presented the idea of Berkshire's acquiring Lubrizol to Buffett on January 14 or 15, 2011, and again after a January 25 meeting with Lubrizol's CEO. Berkshire Hathaway's board voted to acquire Lubrizol at $135 per share on March 13, 2011.

On March 28, 2011, Sokol tendered his resignation from Berkshire Hathaway. In his press release detailing the resignation, Mr. Buffett detailed trading activity surrounding the Lubrizol acquisition, emphasizing that he did not believe anything unlawful transpired.

In April 2010, a Douglas County judge found that Sokol, who was the CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, decided to change future profit calculations in such a way that it eliminated the stake in a 1990s Philippines project for San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders & Developers Group. The judge said that Sokol and MidAmerican had acted "willfully and intentionally". The court levied a $32 million ruling against MidAmerican. This ruling may be worth $140 million in future profits.

Sokol serves as the Chairman of the Board of Ce Casecnan Water & Energy Co., Inc. He serves as Chairman of Omaha Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority. He served as the Chairman of the Board of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company since May 1994. He served as Chairman of HomeServices of America, Inc. (formerly HomeServices.Com Inc.) since inception in July 1999. He served as Chairman of Northern Electric PLC. He has been a director of HomeServices of America, Inc., since July 1999. He serves as a director of Ce Casecnan Water & Energy Co., Inc., and Omaha Airport Authority. He has been Director of MidAmerican Energy Holdings since March 1991. He served as a director of MidAmerican Funding LLC, since formation in March 1999. He served as Non-executive Director of BYD Company Ltd.,from August 4, 2009 to April 1, 2011.

Sokol was also integral in the selection of acquisition targets at Berkshire. In 2008, Sokol flew to China to research car manufacturer BYD, which resulted in Berkshire acquiring a $230 million stake. This position was worth over $1.5 billion in 2010. Later in 2008, Sokol engineered the acquisition of Constellation for $4.7 billion, sparing the energy company from bankruptcy.

He served as a director of Northern Electric PLC from January 1997 to June 1, 2007. He also served as a director of CE Electric UK Funding Company until June 1, 2007. He holds Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from University of Nebraska, Omaha in 1978 and Honorary Doctorate from Bellevue University Bellevue Nebraska. In 2008, he authored and self-published "Pleased But Not Satisfied", which described his business philosophy.

Previously, Sokol served as the Chief Executive Officer of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (formerly CalEnergy Company Inc.) a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. from April 19, 1993 to April 16, 2008. He served as the President of MidAmerican Energy Holdings from April 19, 1993 to January 21, 1995. Formerly, among other positions held in the independent power industry, Sokol served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Kiewit Energy Company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc., and Ogden Projects Inc. Sokol served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Managers of MidAmerican Funding LLC, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, since its formation in March 1999. He served as a Manager of Berkshire.

Sokol was able to keep this job when he entered the University of Nebraska. Shortly before the end of his junior year in college, Sokol married. He moved out of his parents' home and into a trailer with his bride, Peggy. By the time he graduated, he had a child on the way. Sokol graduated in 1978 and went to work as a structural engineer for an engineering company in the United States, HDR, Inc.

The youngest of five children, David L Sokol was born in 1956 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father managed a grocery store in Omaha when he was born. He attended Catholic grade school and public high school.