When Buffett is gone, Abel will take over as Berkshire CEO
Vice Chairman Greg Abel will succeed billionaire Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway CEO, according to a report.
Buffett confirmed the succession plan Monday to CNBC after Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger let slip the plan during the company’s annual meeting on Saturday. Buffett did not immediately respond Monday to questions from The Associated Press about the plan.
The 90-year-old Buffett told CNBC that if anything happened to him, Abel, who currently oversees all of Berkshire’s non-insurance companies, would be the one to take the top post. Buffett said that if for some reason Abel couldn’t do the job, then Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, who oversees Geico and all of Berkshire’s other insurance units, would become CEO.
During an exchange at the annual meeting about the importance of protecting Berkshire’s culture in the future, Buffett said Berkshire’s extremely decentralized operating model won’t work unless the company has the right culture.
Munger responded: “But we do, and Greg will keep the culture.”
Buffett has said he has no plans to retire.
Berkshire has long planned to split Buffett’s job into three parts when he is gone: a CEO to oversee capital allocation and Berkshire’s operations, investment managers to handle Berkshire’s stock portfolio and a separate board chairman.
In the past, Buffett has declined to name the next CEO except to say that one of Berkshire’s managers would take the job, but Abel was seen as a likely candidate. Buffett has said he wants the next CEO to have a long tenure leading the conglomerate and Abel is currently 59.
Buffett has named two investment managers who already help manage the portfolio and said that his oldest son, Howard Buffett, who already serves on Berkshire’s board, is likely to become the company’s next chairman.
It’s clear that Berkshire values the contributions of Abel and Jain because both men received $19 million in compensation last year. That’s well above the $100,000 salary Buffett has received for more than 25 years.
Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan said it’s not a surprise that Abel will be Berkshire’s next CEO given the role he has had overseeing many of Berkshire’s more than 90 subsidiaries since 2018, including the BNSF railroad, all of Berkshire’s utilities, retail and manufacturing companies.
Berkshire Hathaway operates businesses across an array of industries and is the parent company of the Dalton, Georgia-based Shaw Industries and the Knoxville-based Clayton Homes. Berkshire is also buying a majority interest in the Knoxville-based Pilot Flying J truck stop chain and also franchises a real estate sales company with an operation in Chattanooga, Berkshire Hathaway Home-Services J Douglas Properties.
“We have a great deal of comfort with Abel as CEO and with the overall future leadership of the company. I think he has proven to be a really effective leader,” said Shanahan.