Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and Eitan Wertheimer, Chairman of the Board of Iscar, took part in a full day of activities on IMD’s campus in Lausanne, Switzerland to celebrate 20 years of family business research and education at IMD.

During a session with the IMD MBA class of 2008, Mr Buffett and Mr Wertheimer answered questions from participants. They then took part in an hour long media session and an IMD webcast for the general public. They concluded their activities by attending an exclusive event with leaders of family businesses and members of the IMD Family Business Network.

Mr Buffett and Mr Wertheimer shared their personal views on family business issues with each audience at IMD. The two recently decided to expand their respective businesses when Berkshire Hathaway acquired 80% of the shares of Iscar, a family-owned company. This marked Berkshire Hathaway’s first major foreign purchase.

"Family-owned businesses share our long-term orientation, belief in hard work and a no-nonsense approach and respect for a strong corporate culture," stated Mr Buffett. "Family businesses and Berkshire Hathaway have a common philosophy and make a good team."

"The case of Berkshire Hathaway and Iscar is testament to the value of family business," concluded Professor Joachim Schwass, Director of the IMD Family Business Research Center. "IMD is one of the first business schools to offer world-class family business education. For almost a complete generation, we have addressed the challenges of family-owned companies and we are truly honored that Mr Warren Buffett and Mr Eitan Wertheimer decided to celebrate our 20-year anniversary with us here at IMD."

About Iscar
Iscar is a producer of unique and innovative cutting tools for metalworking, including turning, grooving, milling, hole making, boring and threading tools. In the past 56 years it has expanded from a single marketing and manufacturing facility in Israel to a multinational company with representation in over 50 countries.

About Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a holding company controlled by Warren Buffett since 1965. Berkshire Hathaway has 76 operating businesses, with its largest source of earnings arising from property-casualty insurance and reinsurance. It also owned common stocks with a value of US$75 billion at year-end 2007. If an investor had put US$10,000 in Buffett Partnership Ltd when it was formed in 1956 and continued that investment in Berkshire Hathaway, he or she would now have shares worth about US$650 million.

Kevin Anselmo
IMD Media Relations
Tel: +41(0) 21 618 0799
Contact Kevin Anselmo