Buffett to Retire at Year-End… Successor Abel Named "Flawless Problem Solver"

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, announced his retirement at the end of this year and named Greg Abel as his successor.
Abel has had a long-standing relationship with Buffett and is recognized for his outstanding performance as Vice Chairman of Berkshire's Non-Insurance Business.
Buffett's retirement and Abel's appointment are expected to be officially approved by the Berkshire board.

Warren Buffett, the 'Investment Guru' and Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has announced he will retire at the end of this year. Attention is focused on Greg Abel, the Vice Chairman of the Non-Insurance Business, whom he recommended as his successor.

Abel graduated from the University of Alberta in Canada and worked as an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers before moving to the power company CalEnergy. CalEnergy, which later changed its name to MidAmerican, was acquired by Berkshire in 1999, establishing a connection with Buffett.

Abel served as CEO of MidAmerican and was appointed Vice Chairman of Berkshire's Non-Insurance Business in 2018. Since then, he has overseen Berkshire's manufacturing and retail operations.

In 2021, Buffett named Abel as the first choice to take over management immediately if he had to step down. Abel gradually became known by appearing with Buffett at annual meetings.

According to the Associated Press, Buffett and the Berkshire board have praised Abel for his natural talent in understanding all kinds of businesses, noting his diligence and business acumen, although it may be difficult for him to match Buffett.

Buffett has grown Berkshire by making timely investments over the decades, but the current size of Berkshire makes it difficult to achieve the same returns as in the past.

Ron Olson, a member of the Berkshire board, said, "As far as I know, there is no other Buffett," but added, "He (Abel) has a lot of Buffett's fundamentals." Olson also described Abel as "a person who is diligent and thinks strategically."

Troy Bader, CEO of Dairy Queen, a subsidiary of Berkshire, evaluated Abel as "a person with excellent business sense and good intuition like Buffett."

According to the AP, Abel resides in Des Moines, Iowa, and is not expected to move to Omaha, where Berkshire's headquarters is located.

Meanwhile, at the Berkshire board meeting scheduled for the 4th (local time), Buffett said he would recommend Greg Abel, Vice Chairman of Berkshire's Non-Insurance Business, to take over as CEO from the end of this year. The board will decide whether to officially approve it. Buffett has said it will pass unanimously.

Credit: Yonghyun Shin, Hankyung.com Reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com