Warren Buffett under pressure to give up Berkshire Hathaway chairman role

California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), the largest public pension fund in the US, said it plans to vote for a shareholder proposal that Berkshire Hathaway replace billionaire Warren Buffett as chairman.

The fund has over US$450 billion in assets under management and about US$2.3 billion in Berkshire shares, it said in a filing Tuesday.

The non-profit National Legal and Policy Center, which is also a shareholder, has called for an independent chair, saying the governance structure is weakened with both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer roles held by the same official.

Berkshire opposes the proposal, saying last month that Buffett should continue in both roles.