It looks like Warren Buffett has narrowed his choice for successor down to 2 people

pulse

January 10, 2018 7:52 PM

Warren Buffett shed light on his succession plan on Wednesday, appointing two senior executives — Greg Abel and Ajit Jain — to Berkshire Hathaway's board.

Warren Buffett appointed two senior executives — Greg Abel and Ajit Jain — to Berkshire Hathaway's board of directors on Wednesday.
The decision is seen as narrowing down Buffett's succession decision to the two individuals, who will now assume broader responsibilities.

Warren Buffett's succession plan is coming into focus.

The billionaire founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway named two senior executives — Greg Abel and Ajit Jain — to the company's board on Wednesday, while also appointing each of them to run large portions of the firm. The move is seen as positioning either Abel or Jain to eventually take over running the firm.

Abel, currently chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, will assume the role as vice chairman of non-insurance business operations. Meanwhile, Jain, who's now executive vice president of National Indemnity, will be vice chairman of insurance operations.

"It’s part of the movement toward succession," Buffett said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday. "They are the two key figures at Berkshire."

The announcement helps solidify Berkshire's eventual succession plan by giving both Abel and Jain experience with broader corporate responsibilities. It's the clearest sign yet of what Buffett will do, after years of speculation. It had long been expected that the billionaire CEO would promote from within his firm's ranks, and this news would seem to confirm that.

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