Berkshire Hathaway board approves Greg Abel as next CEO, Warren Buffett to remain chairman

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has named its Vice Chairman Greg Abel as the next CEO of the company as the ace investor stepped aside from his role.

Abel's appointment will be effective from January 1, 2026, Berkshire Hathaway said in a statement.

Warren Buffett will step aside as the CEO but will continue with his role as chairman of the board of the $1.16 trillion conglomerate.

The board of directors at the cash-rich conglomerate voted on Sunday to keep the legendary 94-year-old investor as head of the board. The board in the same meeting also approved Buffett’s chosen successor as CEO, veteran Berkshire executive Greg Abel.

In a statement on Monday, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said that the decision was unanimous.

In a surprise announcement on Saturday, Warren Buffett announced that he would step down as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. The 94-year-old picked the final minute of his 60th shareholder meeting to drop the long-awaited succession announcement, choosing Greg Abel as his successor.

As CEO, Greg Abel will oversee a conglomerate with nearly 4,00,000 employees at businesses across sectors such as insurers, manufacturers and a top US railroad.

Berkshire, which owns railroads, insurance companies and an ice-cream maker, has been planning for decades for the eventuality when Buffett, who has run the company since 1965, is no longer there.

Berkshire shares take a hit

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell 2.8 per cent before the bell on Monday after the ace investor announced his retirement, Reuters reported.

Shareholders said it remains unclear how the holding company's 189 operating businesses, $264 billion of stocks and $347.7 billion of cash will fare after the man so involved with it leaves the stage.

Who is Greg Abel?

Before Buffett disclosed his plan, Abel, who was unaware of the move, told attendees at the annual meeting he would be "more active, but hopefully in a very positive way", in overseeing Berkshire subsidiaries, though they would continue running "very autonomously".

Abel, a Canadian, has long been among the close aides of Warren Buffett. Greg Abel lives two hours away from Warren Buffett in Des Moines Iowa. He is likely to stay there.

Since 2018 he has held charge of BNSF, Berkshire's railroad company, food brands Dairy Queen and See's Candies, and other manufacturing and retail businesses.