annual meeting

What a Novel Idea! (Actually, Not)

For the first time, Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting (held in Omaha this Saturday, April 30) will also be online.

Who could have predicted that?

Actually . . . yours truly.

More than 21 years ago.

Here’s an excerpt from my article in The New York Times:

“Electronic meetings have several advantages over the in-person version.  Companies can dispense with the time and cost to rent a hotel ballroom, and to make and pay for executives’ travel, lodging, and all related arrangements.  Meanwhile, all shareholders — not just meeting attendees — can participate, and will have more opportunity to communicate with each other as well.”

–Ross Kaplan, “Annual Meetings:  Put Them On-Line”; The New York Times (10/16/1994).

Supplement . . . or Replacement?

Will online meetings ever replace the physical kind?

Here’s what I speculated back in 1994:  “Of course, companies such as Wal-Mart and Berkshire Hathaway, where annual meetings are part of the corporate culture, may never want to phase them out.”

P.S.  All that was (well) before my run as a Realtor 13 years ago.  In the 1990’s, I was advising large, publicly-traded companies on how to use the Internet to communicate with shareholders, and editing a related publication called “Off-Line.”

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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