Warren Buffett has made it clear in his annual shareholder letters and public statements that he never considers where a candidate has gone to school when selecting CEOs for Berkshire Hathaway companies. Buffett believes raw business talent and character outweigh academic pedigree, regardless of whether someone attended a prestigious institution or chose an unconventional educational path.
Buffett cites successful leaders like the late Pete Liegl, former CEO of Forest River, who managed significant growth without Ivy League credentials, as well as Bill Gates (who dropped out of Harvard) and Ben Rosner (whose formal education ended in sixth grade) as prime examples of how innate ability and operational excellence matter far more than credentials.
