Todd Combs, portfolio manager and investment officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., arrives for the morning session of the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., on Friday, July 12, 2019.
Patrick T. Fallon / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced a number of structural changes before the legendary CEO steps aside at the end of this year, among them the departure of Todd Combs, investment officer and Geico CEO.
Combs, 54, will be joining JPMorgan Chase, where he already served on the board, as head of the bank’s new Security and Resiliency Initiative, to find direct equity investments in the defense, aerospace, healthcare and energy industries.
Combs “has resigned to accept an interesting and important job at JPMorgan,” said Buffett, 95, in a press release from Berkshire. “Todd made many great hires at GEICO and broadened its horizons. JPMorgan, as usually is the case, has made a good decision.”
Combs joined Berkshire in 2010 from his hedge fund Castle Point and was brought in, along with Ted Weschler, to help manage Berkshire’s portfolio of investments. Buffett is handing over the CEO reins to Greg Abel in 2026 and Combs’ departure leaves some questions as to how the sizable equity holdings of Berkshire, which include Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola, will continue to be managed when he steps down.
Among some of the other notable changes at Berkshire are the retirement of chief financial officer Marc Hamburg, who served under Buffett for 40 years. Charles Chang, current CFO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy will replace him. Nancy Pierce, chief operating officer of Geico, will replace Combs as CEO of Geico.
The conglomerate also said the CEO of its NetJets unit, Adam Johnson, will serve in a new role as president of Berkshire’s consumer products, service and retailing businesses. Abel will directly oversee the remaining noninsurance businesses, Berkshire said.
$1.5 trillion JPMorgan initiative
Combs, who is leaving the JPMorgan board effective immediately, will also serve as a special advisor to CEO Jamie Dimon.
“Todd Combs is one of the greatest investors and leaders I’ve known, having successfully managed investments alongside the most respected and successful long-term investor of our time, Warren Buffett,” said Dimon in a release. “Having served nine years on our Board, he truly understands all aspects of our company, and he supports the role we play helping make the world better and safer for all its citizens.”
Combs will have $10 billion to deploy to start with for JPMorgan’s new initiative, which the bank said will ultimately commit $1.5 trillion to spur economic growth “make the world more secure.”
The Security and Resiliency Initiative will have an outside council to guide its strategy which includes, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Dell Chairman Michael Dell, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Despite his advanced age, Buffett surprised shareholders at the conglomerate’s annual meeting in May when he said he would be stepping aside for Abel, who is 63 and current vice chairman of noninsurance operations. The stock has underperformed this year in part because of angst over what Berkshire will look like after Buffett, who took over the textiles manufacturer in 1965 and turned it into an investment holding company that went on to post an unprecedented long-term track record.
Berkshire shares are up 11% this year, below the 17% return of the S&P 500. Buffett, who will remain chairman, noted in a Thanksgiving message that he still feels good, however he is moving slowly and reading with “increasing difficulty.”