Mary Ann Todd

When the dealmakers at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. go shopping, they usually take Todd with them.

The corporate transactions partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson often crafts multiple-billion-dollar deals for the company and its subsidiaries.

Todd recently led the representation of Berkshire and its subsidiary Columbia Insurance in an agreement with Canadian lender Home Capital Group Inc. for an equity investment of up to CA$400 million and a new CA$2 billion credit facility.

The agreement was announced on June 21, with the initial equity investment and credit facility closing a week later.

Because Home Capital is a public company and found itself in a troubled financial state, Todd said she and her team had to act quickly to preserve stability in the market.

“We did really have to rise to the occasion, and our team did,” Todd said. “It really was a great team effort. We got things pulled together really quickly.”

Berkshire is just one of Todd’s big-name clients.

In April, Todd led another significant deal: BDT Capital Partners LLC and JAB Holding Co. acquired Panera Bread in a transaction valued at $7.5 billion. It was reportedly the largest-ever purchase of a U.S. restaurant company.

Not only does Todd believe Panera is “an exciting company to be associated with,” she said the deal marks an increasing trend of going-private transactions.

“I think it’s attractive to be able to fulfill your growth plan, keep your team in place and not be subjected to a lot of the challenges that a lot of public companies face,” she said.

With the entirety of her 23-year career at Munger Tolles, Todd described her trajectory as “the old-fashioned model.”

“I found a great firm and stuck with it,” she explained.

— Lila Seidman