Tracy Britt Cool

Tracy Britt Cool (born September 7, 1984 in Manhattan, Kansas)^[1][2] is an American business executive and entrepreneur who was widely noted as a Warren Buffett protégé. She chaired four Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries before co-founding Kanbrick, a private equity firm, in 2020.

Tracy Britt Cool
Born	September 7, 1984 Manhattan, Kansas
Alma mater	Harvard University Harvard Business School
Occupation(s)	Business executive, entrepreneur
Employer	Kanbrick

Background

Britt Cool was born and raised on a farm in Manhattan, Kansas, where, by about age 10, she operated her own produce stand,^[3] negotiating with fruit and vegetable distributors throughout her teens and learning business from the ground up.^[4]

She graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 2009,^[1][5] where, as an undergraduate, she had interned at 85 Broads,^[4] Bank of America, and Lehman Brothers. Britt Cool served as president of Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business (HUWIB)^[4] and was voted "Most Likely to Become a Billionaire".^[6] She was a member of the Zeta Xi chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta.^[7] In 2006, while an undergraduate at Harvard, she co-founded Smart Woman Securities with future screenwriter Teresa Hsiao, which educates its members on investments.^[4][2]

Career

Hired following her 2009 graduation,^[4] Britt Cool became the financial assistant and noted protégé of Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett.^[8][5][9] In 2012, she was featured among "40 Under 40: Hottest Young Stars in Business" by Fortune magazine,^[10] then named to its "40 Under 40" list of emerging leaders in 2013.^[11] In 2014, she was named to the Forbes list of 30 Under 30 influencers on global cashflow.^[12]

In October 2014, she was named CEO of Pampered Chef.^[5][13] Overseeing over $4 billion in annual sales and a workforce of over 10,000,^[14] Britt Cool has chaired four Berkshire subsidiaries: Larson-Juhl, Johns Manville, Oriental Trading Company, and Benjamin Moore^[11] and also served on the board of H. J. Heinz.^[12]

On September 18, 2019, Britt Cool announced her resignation from Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries, including her intention to step down from Kraft Heinz's board in the first quarter of 2020.^[9] She left the firms in order to co-found Kanbrick, a private equity firm in Chicago, Illinois, with former Pampered Chef CFO Brian Humphrey.^[15] In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Britt Cool said that she wanted to work with and acquire "businesses too small for Berkshire,"^[8] mimicking its business model for smaller companies.^[9] Kanbrick closed its first deal in July 2020, acquiring an interest in Thirty-One Gifts.^[15]

Britt Cool is also a non-executive director of acquisition vehicle EverArc Holdings Ltd. which raised $340 million in an IPO.^[16][17]

Personal life

She married Omaha attorney Scott Cool in September 2013. Warren Buffett walked Britt Cool down the aisle during the ceremony.^[18]

References

1. "Tracy Britt Cool, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler". CNBC. October 6, 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
2. Buhayar, Noah; Colby, Laura (2014-01-23). "Meet Warren Buffett's Top Troubleshooter: Tracy Britt Cool". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
3. Rosenbaum, Eric (2014-10-30). "Advice from Buffett's 30 year-old right hand woman". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
4. Das, Anupreeta (June 11, 2013). "A Rising Star Emerges at Berkshire". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
5. Leahey, Colleen (October 30, 2014). "Tracy Britt Cool: The education of Warren Buffett's protege". Fortune. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
6. "How 29-year-old Tracy Britt Cool became one of Warren Buffett's most trusted advisers". Financial Post. January 21, 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
7. "Notable Thetas". heritage.kappaalphatheta.org. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
8. Friedman, Nicole. "Warren Buffett Protege to Leave Berkshire, Start Own Firm". WSJ. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
9. Li, Yun (2019-09-18). "A Warren Buffett protege is leaving to start her own Berkshire". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
10. "Fortune Celebrates 40 Hottest Stars in Business". sfluxe.com. October 31, 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
11. "40 Under 40 2013". fortune.com. Fortune. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
12. "Tracy Britt Cool, 29 - In Photos: 2014 30 Under 30: Finance". Forbes. 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
13. Leahey, Colleen (2014-09-17). "Warren Buffett's wrath: How Benjamin Moore almost broke his promise". Fortune. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
14. Clark, Patrick (January 27, 2014). "Four Lessons from Tracy Britt Cool, HBS Grad and Warren Buffett's 29-Year-Old Confidante". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
15. Mohamed, Theron (July 18, 2020). "Warren Buffett's former lieutenant quit to build her own Berkshire Hathaway — and she just closed her first deal". MSN. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
16. Calatayud, Adria. "Acquisition Vehicle EverArc Raises $340 Million Ahead of London Listing". WSJ. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
17. "IPO of EverArc Holdings Limited - RNS - London Stock Exchange". LondonStockExchange. 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
18. McMillan Portillo, Caroline (October 28, 2014). "6 things to know about Tracy Britt Cool, a Buffett protégée and Pampered Chef's new CEO". bizjournals.com. The Business Journals. Retrieved 2 May 2021.