For many University of Wisconsin business students, the chance to meet with influential chief executives is one they dream of, but for 20 students in UW’s Masters of Business Administration program the dream is about to come true.
These students will travel to Omaha, Neb., Thursday to eat lunch and converse with Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the most influential investors in the business community.
This is the first time since 2005 UW students have attended the event, which Buffett has held four times a year for about the past ten years, said Dan Walker, a student in the MBA Applied Security Analysis Program.
Walker, the lead organizer for the UW students, used an essay application to determine which 20 candidates would be able to attend what he called a once-in-a-lifetime event. Only 20 students from each of the six different universities were able to go to the luncheon.
Walker said the UW applicants were asked to submit the questions they wanted to ask Buffett, as well as an essay explaining why they wanted to be a part of this event.
“I wrote about [holding] Warren as a role model, his ability to explain things in language that normal people use, and that as an MBA student in the Hawk Center for Applied Security Analysis, I use many of Warren’s best practices,” UW business student and trip participant Michael Ebeling said.
UW will cover the students’ travel expenses, Walker said, but each student must pay for their own hotel accommodations.
The students will have the opportunity to ask Buffett their questions during a two-hour Q&A session at his office. Afterward, Buffett will treat the students to lunch at one of his favorite steakhouses, Piccolo Pete’s, Walker said.
Buffett auctions off lunches to raise money for charity, and the most recent one was purchased by an investor for more than $2 million, Walker said.
“He’s just an expert on so many different things…he has a lot of wisdom to offer outside finance and investing,” Walker said. “He is also one of most interesting speakers I have ever seen.”
Participants believe this trip is of great benefit to UW, not only to the students who attend but for instructors as well.
“This opportunity will allow current students to learn about real time financial world events, and will allow UW-MBA faculty to speak about this experience when recruiting top students for future years classes,” Ebeling said.