The man who's widely seen as most likely to succeed Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO continues to deflect that speculation.
In a live interview Monday on CNBC's Squawk Box, David Sokol told us:
"I think history will show that the last 18 months may have been Warren Buffett's most successful period. Some of the decisions and investments that Berkshire has been able to make are real reflections of his discipline and being ready when the opportunity comes toward you... He's going a great job. And frankly, he seems in better health today than he did 10 years ago when I first met him."
Sokol, who is currently Chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings and newly named CEO of NetJets (both Berkshire subsidiaries) expresses confidence that the Berkshire board is taking succession planning very seriously, although he's not involved in the process.
He also says, as he's done in past interviews with us, that there are "two to three dozen world-class CEOs" among Berkshire's 240,000 employees. "I'd be thrilled to work with, or for, any of them."
Here's the complete interview:
