Berkshire Hathaway vs NEC: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Berkshire Hathaway and NEC 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. 1899NEC

   Nippon Electric Company Founded

   Kunihiko Iwadare, the Japanese sales agent for Western Electric, and W.T. Carleton, head of Western Electric's Tokyo branch, establish NEC on July 17, 1899, making it one of the first Japanese companies built on direct ties to an American electrical manufactur…

3. 1955Berkshire Hathaway

   Berkshire Fine Spinning and Hathaway Manufacturing Merge

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

4. 1958NEC

   Computer Expansion

   NEC expands from communications equipment into computers and enterprise technology.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 1982NEC

    C&C Strategy

    NEC promotes the integration of computers and communications as a strategic identity.

11. 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.

12. 1994NEC

    Acquired Packard Bell

    NEC acquired Packard Bell. NEC acquired Packard Bell in 1994.

13. 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.

14. 1998Berkshire Hathaway

    General Re and Executive Jet Acquired

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

15. 2010Berkshire Hathaway

    BNSF Railway Acquired

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

16. 2011NEC

    PC Joint Venture with Lenovo

    NEC restructures its PC business through a joint venture with Lenovo.

17. 2016Berkshire Hathaway

    Precision Castparts Acquired

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

18. 2018Berkshire Hathaway

    Abel and Jain Named Vice Chairmen

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

19. 2018NEC

    Acquired Northgate Public Services

    NEC acquired Northgate Public Services for $645 million. NEC acquired UK-based Northgate Public Services from private-equity owner Cinven for about 475 million (roughly $645 million) to expand its digital-government software business into the British public se…

20. 2021NEC

    Takayuki Morita Becomes President and CEO

    Takayuki Morita, previously CFO, becomes NEC president and CEO on April 1, 2021.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 2024NEC

    BluStellar Strategy Launched

    NEC introduces BluStellar, a value-creation model applying AI -- including a partnership integrating Anthropic's Claude -- across its IT Services and Social Infrastructure businesses.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 2026NEC

    FY26/3 Revenue Reaches ~$24 billion (3.5827 Trillion Yen)

    NEC reports higher revenue and record profit margins, with IT Services and Social Infrastructure as the key businesses.

Acquisitions

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