January 9, 2018: The Board Added Him and Made Him Vice Chairman

DOCUMENTED

Berkshire Hathaway’s January 10, 2018, news release states that on January 9, 2018, the board voted to increase its size from twelve to fourteen directors. Gregory E. Abel and Ajit Jain were elected to fill the vacancies. Warren E. Buffett, then chairman and CEO, appointed Abel Vice Chairman – Non-Insurance Business Operations and Jain Vice Chairman – Insurance Operations.

The release says Abel joined Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 1992 and was then its chairman and CEO. Buffett and Charles T. Munger would continue in their existing positions, including significant capital-allocation and investment work. The 2026 proxy later records Abel as a director since 2018 and Vice Chairman – Non-Insurance Operations from 2018 through 2025.

Fox Business carried a contemporaneous recap of the board expansion and the two vice-chair titles. That piece is reporting. The titles rest on the company release and the later proxy. “Heir apparent” language in later commentary is opinion, not a 2018 finding.

Sources

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. News release, Jan. 10, 2018. berkshirehathaway.com

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 2026 DEF 14A, Abel biography. sec.gov

Fox Business / Dow Jones. “Berkshire Hathaway Boosts Its Board Size.” Jan. 10, 2018 (reporting). foxbusiness.com

Opinion

The following is commentary by this site. It is not a finding of fact and not a legal conclusion.

Compiler take

Two new chairs. One for insurance. One for everything else. The company wrote it down in 2018. Wall Street wrote novels about succession. The filing is shorter.