David Sokol

David L. Sokol
Dave Sokol at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting
Born	David L. Sokol 1956 Omaha, Nebraska
Nationality	American

David L. Sokol (born 1956) is an American business executive. He served as chairman, president and CEO of NetJets as well as chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, of which Berkshire Hathaway holds a 100% and 89.8% stake respectively. He resigned March 28, 2011.

The youngest of five children, David L Sokol was born in 1956 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father managed a grocery store in Omaha when he was born. He attended Catholic grade school and public high school. "My parents had been married for 25 years by the time I came along," says Sokol. "My oldest sibling is 23 years older than me, so there were times when it seemed like I had more than just two parents."

Sokol's father was focused on the positive side of life. It was his habit on weekends to go through the newspaper looking for articles that would inspire his family. "We were all expected to sit together for dinner on Sundays," says Sokol. "My father would ask us to read aloud the stories he had circled. They were always about a local businessman who had done well, or maybe about someone who had given money to help resolve a problem. He instilled in us a belief that we, too, could do the great things we read about in the paper. His parents came over from Poland and he was a 100 percent believer in America-that if you apply yourself in this country, you can do anything. I was raised with that philosophy, and I agree with my father."

Sokol describes his mother as traditional and loving. Even though their home was modest, she made it comfortable and welcoming. "She was the kind of mother who had cookies warm out of the oven when you came home from school," says Sokol. "She focused on our care and education." Sokol's parents would not be able to pay for their children's college education, but it was expected that each of them would go. "My father expected us to work our way through school, but he didn't think that was a bad thing. He believed you learned a lot from working."

When Sokol was 11, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. To help out with expenses, Sokol worked as a paperboy, as a caddie at a golf course, and as a janitor in a hardware store. He also helped local farmers bale hay. In high school, he worked as a maintenance manager for an apartment complex. He also worked for a local grocery store, starting as a bagger and then in less than two years becoming the night manager.

Sokol was able to keep this job when he entered the University of Nebraska. His life was busy and focused. He lived at home, went to school during the day, and worked at night. Sokol was an able student who got progressively better as he got older. He had been involved in football, wrestling, and track in high school and went on to play football in college. When he realized he couldn't have a career in football, he began to take school more seriously.