Warren Buffett has been the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.27%)(BRK.B 0.31%) for decades. His tenure is about to end, with top lieutenant Greg Abel set to take over the CEO slot at the start of 2026. This is a significant change, but more changes are to come as the new year gets underway.
Here's a look at what's happening underneath the CEO position.
The CEO change is big, but not that big
The day-to-day operation of a company falls into the hands of the CEO. Berkshire Hathaway will see that power transition from Warren Buffett, one of the most famous investors on Wall Street, to Greg Abel as 2026 gets underway. However, it's important to keep in mind a couple of key facts.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
For starters, Buffett will remain the chairman of the board of directors. While the CEO runs the company on a day-to-day basis, they must answer to the board of directors, so essentially, Buffett will still be Abel's boss. Given Buffett's management approach, it is unlikely he'll be overbearing in this new role. However, investors can take comfort that Buffett will still be a phone call away.
Secondly, Abel has been working for Buffett for decades. He's steeped in Buffett's management style and investment approach. Abel isn't Buffett, so he'll do things differently. However, what he does will be informed by what he's learned from the Oracle of Omaha. Given Buffett's long history of success, it's unlikely Abel will attempt to reinvent the wheel.
What the next year will look like for Berkshire Hathaway
At the end of the third quarter of 2025, Berkshire Hathaway had roughly $380 billion worth of cash on its balance sheet. That materially reduces risk for the company over the next 12 months as Abel begins to make his mark at the company.
It gives the company the financial strength to weather a bear market, should one occur in 2026, and gives Abel the firepower to make acquisitions, if that's what he wishes to do. It also provides room for Abel to make a few mistakes without derailing the company. That said, a recent news update from Berkshire Hathaway highlights one major project that Abel will be working on over the next year: establishing his own team.
In early December 2025, Berkshire announced that several prominent employees were leaving or retiring, including Todd A. Combs, CEO of GEICO, and Marc Hamburg, the chief financial officer of Berkshire Hathaway. There were also other shifts and changes, but the real story is that key leadership roles are turning over, and Abel is getting a new team.
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Key Data Points
The CFO transition is set for mid-2026, so this isn't an overnight shift. However, as an investor, you need to consider what's happening behind the scenes. For example, Combs handled investment decisions at GEICO, and his loss could be material.
After all is said and done, the giant conglomerate will be similar, but different. The next year will be a time of learning for the new leaders, even though many of them have worked together for years. It's simply different when you hold a key decision-making role.
It isn't time to worry about Berkshire Hathaway yet
If you own Berkshire Hathaway, you shouldn't ignore what's happening at the company from a leadership perspective. The change at the top is big news, but there are clearly more shifts taking place that will have an impact on the business. The next year will show investors how Abel and his team handle the leadership of the company.
Berkshire Hathaway will probably be run in a similar fashion but won't be the same company it was under Warren Buffett. That makes 2026 one of the most important years in the company's history, noting that the cash hoard has set the business up to survive if things don't go well, and thrive if they do. All in, however, in one year, Abel and his team will have settled into a routine that will give Wall Street a better feel for the company Berkshire Hathaway will be under his leadership.
