Berkshire Hathaway has announced a series of leadership changes across its insurance operations and at the corporate level, including a new chief executive at GEICO and planned transitions in its finance and legal functions.
Nancy L. Pierce has been appointed CEO of GEICO, effective immediately. She has been GEICO’s chief operating officer and joined the company in 1986, holding leadership roles in claims, underwriting, product management and regional operations.
“Nancy knows the business inside and out. She’s practical, decisive and focused on results. I have full confidence in her ability to move GEICO forward,” said Ajit Jain, vice chairman for insurance operations.
As part of the change at GEICO, Todd A. Combs will leave Berkshire Hathaway and move to JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he has served as a board director since 2016.
Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman, said “Todd A. Combs, CEO of GEICO since 2020, has resigned to accept an interesting and important job at JPMorgan,” adding that Combs “made many great hires at GEICO and broadened its horizons” and that “JPMorgan, as usually is the case, has made a good decision.”
On the corporate side, Berkshire said longtime chief financial officer Marc D. Hamburg will retire on June 1, 2027, after 40 years with the company. Hamburg joined Berkshire in 1987 and has served as senior vice president and CFO for decades.
“Marc has been indispensable to Berkshire and to me. His integrity and judgment are priceless,” Buffett said, noting that Hamburg “has done more for this company than many of our shareholders will ever know” and that “his impact has been extraordinary.” The company plans a phased handover of the finance function ahead of his retirement.
Additionally, Charles C. Chang will succeed Hamburg as senior vice president and chief financial officer effective June 1, 2026.
Chang, who will be based in Omaha, is currently senior vice president and CFO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and previously was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, with more than three decades of experience in public company reporting and mergers and acquisitions.
The company also announced that Michael J. O’Sullivan will become senior vice president and general counsel on Jan. 1, 2026, in a newly created position. O’Sullivan joins from Snap Inc., where he has been general counsel since 2017, and previously spent more than two decades at Munger, Tolles & Olson advising on corporate governance, litigation and M&A.
Berkshire said the general counsel role reflects a shift from its longstanding reliance on external legal advisers for corporate matters. The company described the appointments as consistent with its practice of selecting leaders who act as stewards of its culture and support its decentralized operating model.
The appointments follow a period of mixed results at the auto insurer within otherwise stronger group earnings. In the third quarter, Berkshire’s operating earnings rose 34% to $13.5 billion, supported by insurance and non-insurance units, while GEICO’s underwriting profits “suffered a significant hit” and net investment income declined 13% to $3.2 billion amid lower short-term interest rates.
Berkshire’s cash holdings reached a record $381.7 billion in the same quarter.
