06-05-2025
Warren Buffett details timeline for Greg Abel's CEO transition: Trial Balance
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The Trial Balance is weekly preview of stories, stats and events to help you prepare.
Part 1 — Warren Buffett announces Greg Abel will be CEO by the end of 2025
Berkshire Hathaway's board voted to appoint Greg Abel as chief executive officer at the end of the year, following current CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett's announcement to step down as CEO at the company's largest-ever annual shareholder meeting on Saturday. Abel, who has been publicly named Buffett's successor since 2021, will take over as CEO, while Buffett, 94, will remain with the company as chairman of the board.
Abel began his career in public accounting at PwC before joining CalEnergy in 1992 after working with the company as a client. When CalEnergy acquired MidAmerican Energy in 1999 and adopted its name, Abel was named president. That same year, Berkshire Hathaway acquired a controlling interest in MidAmerican. Abel became CEO in 2008, added the title of chairman in 2011, and the company was renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2014.
Abel has served as vice chair of non-insurance operations at Berkshire Hathaway since 2018, overseeing a wide range of the conglomerate's businesses. Though he will become CEO, he will not succeed Buffett as board chair. That role has been reserved for Buffett's son, Howard Buffett, who will serve in a non-executive capacity.
Buffett has led Berkshire Hathaway since 1965, transforming the struggling textile manufacturer into a diversified conglomerate and one of the world's most valuable companies. Often called the 'Oracle of Omaha,' Buffett's strategies are widely regarded as a benchmark in corporate capital allocation, long-term investing and leadership.
During his tenure, Berkshire's market value grew from roughly $20 million to more than $800 billion, made several major acquisitions across industries and led the way in shareholder value, outperforming the S&P 500 for decades.
Part 2 — This week
Here's a list of important market events slated for the week ahead.
Monday, May 5
ISM services, April
Tuesday, May 6
Wednesday, May 7
Thursday, May 8
Friday, May 9 — None scheduled.
Part 3 — Improving returns on investment capital
The newest edition of the Metric of the Month column (5/7) with APQC CFO Perry Wiggins breaks down how finance chiefs can realize higher returns on invested capital. Beyond managing the metric 'thoughtfully and thoroughly,' Wiggins advises CFOs to focus on people, places, process and technology to drive improvement.
