3M vs Berkshire Hathaway: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: 3M and Berkshire Hathaway side by side

1. 1839Berkshire Hathaway

   Valley Falls Company Founded

   Oliver Chace founds the Valley Falls Company in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, as a cotton textile manufacturer. Chace had learned the trade working with Samuel Slater and built his first mill in 1806.

2. 19023M

   Company Founded in Two Harbors, Minnesota

   Five Minnesota businessmen incorporate the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company with the intention of mining corundum abrasive mineral from a deposit on the Lake Superior shore.

3. 19103M

   Relocation to Saint Paul and First Laboratory

   3M relocates its operations to Saint Paul, Minnesota, establishing the geographic base that it would maintain for the remainder of the twentieth century.

4. 19213M

   Wetordry Waterproof Sandpaper Introduced

   Researcher Francis Okie develops Wetordry waterproof sandpaper, the first 3M product to achieve significant commercial success by offering genuine technical differentiation from competing products.

5. 19253M

   Masking Tape Invented by Richard Drew

   Richard Drew, a 3M laboratory researcher who observed automotive painters struggling with imprecise color boundary masking, develops a pressure-sensitive masking tape that allows clean paint line definition without surface damage upon removal.

6. 19303M

   Scotch Transparent Tape Commercialized

   Richard Drew extends his adhesive tape work to create a transparent, pressure-sensitive tape initially called Scotch tape.

7. 1955Berkshire Hathaway

   Berkshire Fine Spinning and Hathaway Manufacturing Merge

   Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates and Hathaway Manufacturing combine and take the Berkshire Hathaway name.

8. 19623M

   Headquarters Moves to 3M Center in Maplewood

   After 52 years in St. Paul, 3M outgrew its campus and moved its headquarters to 3M Center in Maplewood, Minnesota, where it remains.

9. 1962Berkshire Hathaway

   Buffett Partnership Buys Its First Berkshire Shares

   Buffett Partnership Ltd. buys its first Berkshire Hathaway shares in December 1962. Buffett was drawn to the pattern of Berkshire closing plants and using the liquidation proceeds to repurchase its own stock.

10. 1964Berkshire Hathaway

    Tender Offer Dispute With Seabury Stanton

    Berkshire president Seabury Stanton asks Buffett at what price Buffett Partnership would sell, agrees to $11.50 a share, then mails a tender offer at $11.375.

11. 1965Berkshire Hathaway

    Buffett Takes Control and Names Ken Chace President

    Buffett Partnership takes control of Berkshire Hathaway in May 1965 and Stanton leaves. Buffett selects Ken Chace, a long-time employee, as president to run the textile operation, and the cash it generates is pointed at other industries.

12. 1967Berkshire Hathaway

    Entry Into Insurance With National Indemnity

    Early in 1967 Berkshire pays $8.6 million to buy National Indemnity Company and a small sister insurer from owner Jack Ringwalt.

13. 1972Berkshire Hathaway

    See's Candies Bought for $25 Million

    Blue Chip Stamps, controlled by Buffett and Munger and later merged into Berkshire, buys See's Candies for $25 million.

14. 19763M

    3M Added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average

    3M is added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, reflecting its status as one of the defining companies of American industrial manufacturing.

15. 19803M

    Post-it Note Launched Nationally

    After a limited test market launch in 1977 and a national rollout beginning in 1980, Post-it Notes become one of the most successful new product launches in 3M history.

16. 1985Berkshire Hathaway

    Textile Operations Closed

    Buffett decides in July 1985 to close Berkshire's textile operation and the shutdown is largely complete by year end. He described it as finally throwing in the towel after twenty years of unremitting struggle with the business.

17. 19963M

    Imation Spin-off

    3M spun off its data storage and imaging businesses as Imation Corporation, shedding about 20% of its sales in product lines such as removable storage media and photographic film.

18. 1996Berkshire Hathaway

    GEICO Becomes Wholly Owned and Class B Shares Created

    Berkshire buys the remaining 49% of GEICO on January 2, 1996, having held 51%, and GEICO becomes a wholly owned subsidiary. Shareholders also approve a recapitalization creating Class B shares with the economic rights of one thirtieth of a Class A share.

19. 1998Berkshire Hathaway

    General Re and Executive Jet Acquired

    Berkshire acquires reinsurer General Re and fractional-aircraft operator Executive Jet.

20. 20023M

    Legal Name Changed to 3M Company

    On April 8, 2002, 3M's centennial year, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company changed its legal name to 3M Company, adopting the abbreviation it had long used as its brand.

21. 2010Berkshire Hathaway

    BNSF Railway Acquired

    Berkshire completes its purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe in the first quarter of 2010.

22. 2016Berkshire Hathaway

    Precision Castparts Acquired

    Berkshire completes the purchase of Precision Castparts, an aerospace and industrial components maker, for $235 a share in cash.

23. 2018Berkshire Hathaway

    Abel and Jain Named Vice Chairmen

    Berkshire's board expands from twelve to fourteen directors and elects Greg Abel and Ajit Jain.

24. 20203M

    Record N95 Respirator Production During COVID-19

    3M expands N95 respirator production capacity at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately producing more than 2.5 billion respirators between January 2020 and year-end 2021.

25. 2022Berkshire Hathaway

    Alleghany Corporation Acquired

    Berkshire completes the acquisition of insurer Alleghany Corporation on October 19, 2022, paying $848.02 a share in cash for a total equity value of about $11.6 billion and adding the TransRe reinsurance business.

26. 20233M

    Landmark PFAS and Combat Arms Settlements Announced

    3M announces separate landmark settlements addressing its two largest litigation liabilities: a $10.3 billion settlement with municipalities across the United States over PFAS water contamination, to be paid over thirteen years, and a $6.01 billion settlement…

27. 20243M

    Solventum Healthcare Spinoff Completed

    3M completes the spinoff of its healthcare business segment into a separately listed public company named Solventum Corporation in April 2024.

28. 20243M

    William Brown Appointed CEO

    William M. Brown, former chair and CEO of L3Harris Technologies, becomes 3M's Chief Executive Officer on May 1, 2024, succeeding Mike Roman, who became executive chairman.

29. 2024Berkshire Hathaway

    Market Value Tops $1 Trillion

    Berkshire's market capitalization passes $1 trillion on August 28, 2024, making it the first US company outside the technology sector to reach that level.

30. 2024Berkshire Hathaway

    Pilot Travel Centers Fully Owned

    Berkshire acquires the remaining 20% of Pilot Travel Centers on January 16, 2024 and takes full ownership. It had bought 38.6% in 2017 and a further 41.4% for about $8.2 billion in January 2023.

31. 2025Berkshire Hathaway

    Board Approves Abel as CEO From January 2026

    Berkshire announces in May 2025 that Greg Abel will become President and Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2026, with Warren Buffett remaining Chairman of the Board.

32. 2026Berkshire Hathaway

    Abel Becomes CEO and Buffett Becomes Chairman Emeritus

    Abel takes over as CEO on January 1, 2026 and Berkshire completes the $9.7 billion purchase of OxyChem from Occidental on January 2. On September 18, 2026 Buffett is named Chairman Emeritus and remains a director, and his son Howard G.

Acquisitions

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