Taubman College Katie Miller, M.Arch/M.B.A 2010, recently traveled to Omaha, Nebraska with the University of Michigan’s Entrepreneur and Venture Club to meet Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As an officer of the club, Miller joined nineteen students from the club to speak with Buffett.
The students in the Entrepreneur and Venture Club invest in new companies through various avenues, such as student-run venture capital funds at the University of Michigan Business School or at private venture capital firms, while assisting students to obtain internships jobs in those companies. The club met with Warren Buffett to learn more about his business strategies. Buffett is of particular interest because “his investment success is based on the fact that he views stock ownership at its most basic level: as ownership in a company.” Miller explains further, “he makes sure he understands companies very well to determine their value relative to their trading price. For example, when he bought See’s Candy he became an expert in the candy business. This interest in stocks as companies is sometimes refreshing because many investors can get caught up in whims of the market that have nothing to do with the true value of real, operating companies.” Buffett has also made it a priority to invite students pursuing an M.B.A. to visit him once or twice a year.
Miller is currently pursuing both a master’s in architecture and a master’s in business administration from the University of Michigan. Before beginning her graduate studies, she worked for four years at the Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development in real estate in the Brightmoor district of Detroit, Michigan. There, she learned about the real estate industry in the metro Detroit area and decided to look into a career combining both architecture and business. Miller is particularly interested in architecture firm management because “management, which has always been important, is even more essential now due to today’s globalization and our difficult economy.” Katie Miller plans to work for Albert Kahn Associates in summer 2009.
