A 'home run' for Buffett's board.

• Author: Lindner, Karen
• Position: Reprint

From The Women of Berkshire Hathaway by Karen Lindner. Copyright [c]2012 by the author. Published by Wiley (www.wiley.com).

SUSAN L. DECKER is one of two female members of the 12-member board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway and is also the youngest director, at 49 years old. She's been a member of the board since May 2007, and is also a member of the governance, compensation, and nominating committee and the audit committee.

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At the time of her recruitment to the board, Sue was president of Yahoo! Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charles Munger, Washington Post Co. Chairman Donald Graham, and David Gottesman, a fellow Berkshire board member, recommended her for board membership.

"She passed some pretty tough tests when she got A-pluses from all three," Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, recalls. He describes Decker as a "home run" for a Berkshire board seat. "We made the right choice. She's young, so she's going to be there a long time. When we next have to find a director, I'd be very happy if we find someone like Sue."

Buffett adds, "In selecting a new director, we were guided by our long-standing...