Buffett Deputies Join Heinz Board as Lynnn Swann Departs

Thanks to Will for passing this along.

Gregory Abel and Tracy Britt, two of Warren Buffett’s deputies who have been adding responsibilities at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), were selected by the billionaire to join him as directors of HJ Heinz Co.

Jorge Paulo Lemann, whose 3G Capital bought the ketchup maker this month with Berkshire for $28.8 billion, also is on the board with two representatives of his firm, Alexandre Behring and Marcel Herrmann Telles, according to a regulatory filing last week. They replaced directors including Lynn Swann, the former wide receiver for the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

The board oversees Chief Executive Officer Bernardo Hees, who announced a management shakeup yesterday, including the departure of Heinz’s North America CEO David Moran. Britt is chairman of at least two Berkshire units that replaced their CEOs last year, and Abel has been building the company’s energy business through acquisitions.

“For Greg Abel, it broadens his exposure, and it certainly now raises the question, ‘Is he high up on Warren Buffett’s list’” for succession, said David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, who has accompanied students to meet the billionaire.