John Byrne, at the time the chairman of Geico, hired Lou Simpson in 1979 to run Geico's investments as CIO. Byrne sent several candidates to Warren Buffett to be interviewed, but following a four hour interview, Buffett called on Byrne to stop the process, "That's the fellow."

The "fellow" has one of the great records in investing, like Buffett, looking for great businesses with a sustainable competitive advantage. He operates independently of Buffett with somewhat higher turnover but similar discipline.

From Harper Asset MGMT: "Travelcenters of America (TA) started trading regular way today, Feb 1, 2007. The company is a spin-off from Hospitality Trust (HPT), and appears to have a lot of appeal."