TLDR
- Todd Combs is leaving his role as GEICO CEO and Berkshire Hathaway investment manager to join JPMorgan Chase
- Combs will lead a $10 billion strategic investment group within JPMorgan’s new security and resilience initiative
- The move comes weeks before Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire CEO on January 1, with Greg Abel taking over
- Berkshire CFO Marc Hamburg will retire in mid-2027, with Charles Chang replacing him
- GEICO COO Nancy Pierce will succeed Combs as CEO of the insurance company
Todd Combs is making a big move. The GEICO CEO and Berkshire Hathaway investment manager is leaving the conglomerate to join JPMorgan Chase.
The announcement shocked Berkshire watchers Monday morning. Combs appeared to be in line for the top insurance job at Berkshire.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., BRK-A
Instead, he’s heading to JPMorgan. He’ll lead a $10 billion strategic investment group within the bank’s new security and resilience initiative.
Combs will report directly to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. He’ll also serve as a special adviser to Dimon and the bank’s operating committee.
“Todd Combs is one of the greatest investors and leaders I’ve known,” Dimon said in a statement. “Having served nine years on our Board, he truly understands all aspects of our company.”
Combs joined Berkshire in 2010 as a hedge fund manager. He was hired to help manage the company’s massive investment portfolio.
He later took over GEICO in 2020. Warren Buffett called his improvements at the car insurer “spectacular” last year.
His stock picking record was impressive too. From 2005 to 2010, he earned a net cumulative 34% return running his own hedge fund.
That was during the financial crisis when the S&P 500 produced just 1.15%. Not bad.
Executive Shuffle at Berkshire
The timing is interesting. These moves come weeks before Berkshire’s biggest transition in decades.
Buffett will retire as CEO at the end of the year. Greg Abel, the company’s vice chairman, takes over on January 1.
Combs’s exit suggests Abel is already putting his stamp on the company. That includes the massive investment portfolio worth hundreds of billions.
GEICO COO Nancy Pierce will replace Combs as CEO in January. She’s been with the insurance company for years.
Berkshire also announced CFO Marc Hamburg will retire in mid-2027. Charles Chang, currently CFO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, will take his place.
“Marc has been indispensable to Berkshire and to me,” Buffett said Monday. Hamburg has been with the company for decades.
JPMorgan’s National Security Push
JPMorgan’s new initiative is focused on national security. The bank is committing $1.5 trillion to financing and lending efforts.
The goal is to strengthen supply chains, technology capacity, and industrial resilience. Combs will oversee a $10 billion pool for strategic investments.
That money will go to companies involved in AI, minerals, and defense manufacturing. It’s a big bet on America’s future.
JPMorgan created an advisory council for the initiative. It includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Dell founder Michael Dell.
The council also features Ford CEO Jim Farley and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Several retired generals and intelligence officials round out the group.
“We are quite a patriotic company, and then we just started asking what more can we do?” Dimon said at a defense conference over the weekend. He’s clearly serious about this.
Combs has served on JPMorgan’s board since 2016. He’ll step down from that role now that he’s joining as an executive.
“JPMorgan, as usually is the case, has made a good decision,” Buffett said in Berkshire’s press release. High praise from the Oracle of Omaha.
Buffett and Dimon have maintained a friendly relationship for years. Dimon frequently visited Buffett in Omaha before Buffett stopped traveling.
The 95-year-old investor said last month he would be “going quiet” as he prepares to step down. He revealed his retirement plans back in May.
Berkshire also appointed Michael O’Sullivan as its first general counsel next month. Adam Johnson, CEO of NetJets, will lead Berkshire’s consumer products division while keeping his current role.
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