Berkshire-Owned Geico Taps Todd Combs as CEO
Geico, an insurance company owned by Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B), said on Monday that Berkshire portfolio manager Todd Combs will succeed current CEO Bill Roberts, effective New Year's Day.
The Chevy Chase, Maryland-based auto insurance company writes insurance quotes for over 28 million vehicles. Geico Executive Chairman Tony Nicely said in a statement that Roberts told him and Berkshire Vice Chairman Ajit Jain that he plans to retire from Geico at the end of 2020. At the start of 2020, Roberts will hand his CEO role to Combs and assume the role of vice chairman.
Geico's new CEO
Jain said in the press release that Combs, who previously worked at Progressive Corp. (NYSE:PGR)'s insurance business, has a "strong career in insurance." Combs will also continue managing $14 billion of Berkshire's investments.
According to Reuters, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Meyer Shields said Buffett "has talked about the overlap between" a good investor and a good businessperson and that by taking on the Geico CEO role, Combs can "broaden his operational expertise." Reuters added that Combs and Buffett's other lieutenant,Ted Weschler, are among the top candidates to succeed Buffett as CEO of Berkshire. Shields further added that Combs' role as Geico CEO might lead to Combs succeeding Buffett.
Berkshire portfolio overview
Berkshire's $214.67-billion equity portfolio contains 48 stocks as of the quarter ended Sep. 30, 2019, with new positions in Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY) and RH (NYSE:RH). The top-holdings of Berkshire include Cupertino, California-based tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Atlanta, Georgia-based beverage manufacturer The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) and big banks like Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC).
Disclosure: No positions.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
