This book would not have been possible without the support and contributions of numerous individuals, all of whom I would like to thank sincerely for their help.
First, I would like to thank Eddie Ramsden at the London Business School, who encouraged me to turn what was originally a personal research project into a full-fledged book. Without his vision on what was still missing, I would have concluded that there were already too many books written about Warren Buffett and would never have ventured to write about this topic in this form.
I want to thank Bridget Flannery-McCoy and Stephen Wesley at Columbia University Press, who directly worked with me and together spent countless hours giving me feedback and editing my writing. Thank you so much for your dedication to this project and for sharing your talent. Without you and the help of the entire Columbia University Press organization, this book, as it is written, would not have been possible.
Very important, I would like to acknowledge my current colleagues at Shareholder Value Management AG in Frankfurt, Germany for the critical role that they have individually played. Thank you, Frank Fischer and Reiner Sachs, for creating an organization that has provided me with both an amazing environment and the freedom to continually improve my understanding of value investing, without which I could not have written this book. You are, honestly, each in your own way, two of the most incredible and positive individuals I have ever had the opportunity to work with. I am especially thankful for the very significant time that you, Frank, have spent sharing with me your lessons learned in investing and many other things in life. Thank you also to my colleagues Suad Cehajic, Gianluca Ferrari, Ronny Ruchay, Simon Hruby, and Cedric Schwalm for our frequent discussions on this topic and for taking time out of your busy schedules to read my manuscript drafts and give me detailed feedback. Together, this organization and its individuals have added very significantly to what I know about value investing and about life.
I also would like to thank my previous colleagues at Forum Family Office in Munich. All the individuals in that organization, led by Dr. Burkhard Wittek, have taught me much of the remainder of what I know about value investing. Special thanks goes to Frank Weippert, Till Campe, Jeremie Couix, and Sasha Seiler, who even today are wonderful sparring partners for investment ideas and my valued peers in the German value investing community that I am glad to be a part of.
From this network, I also want to thank Norman Rentrop and Jens Grosse-Allermann, who host the yearly German investor get-together at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. I have had the pleasure of attending on several occasions and have found this a great resource and service especially for the German value investor community.
I owe a significant debt to several other individuals: Rob Vinall of RV Capital, who helped review several chapters of this book and who over the years has taught me about many aspects of value investing for which I am grateful; Frederik Meinertsen of SEB, who took an interest in my rather academic work and gave valuable feedback on several parts of this book; Chris Genovese of Sanborn Maps, who was responsible for historical archiving of the company as of 2013, and who helped me significantly in my research for original materials for that company; Professor T. Lindsay Baker at Tarleton State University, who helped me greatly with the case study of Dempster Mill Manufacturing; and all the individuals, including Ralph Bull and Daniel Teston, who allowed me to use their artwork and photography in my book.
Finally, I want to thank my loving family, Nora, Lily, my parents Xuanyong and Lizhu, and my brother Felix, who have all supported me in this long endeavor, putting up with my countless hours typing away on my computer at home, at the beach, and everywhere in between. Thank you so much for your understanding, your patience, and your love.