By Isoken Osagie
Warren Buffett has named Greg Abel as his likely successor of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. if he were to step down.
According to CNBC, the company's board agrees that 59-year-old Abel would take over if anything were to happen to the 90-year-old CEO.
Abel has served as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and vice-chairman of non-insurance operations of Berkshire Hathaway since January 2018.
"The directors are in agreement that if something were to happen to me tonight, it would be Greg who’d take over tomorrow morning," said Buffett, per CNBC.
Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger also made a comment in support of Abel.
"Greg will keep the culture," said Munger, 97, explaining that the company’s decentralized nature would outlast him and Buffett.
The name of Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, who runs all of Berkshire’s insurance operations, also came up.
"If, heaven forbid, anything happened to Greg tonight then it would be Ajit," said Buffett, highlighting that age is a determining factor for the board. Abel is 10 years younger than Jain, who is 69. "They’re both wonderful guys. The likelihood of someone having a 20-year runway though makes a real difference."