Warren Buffett officially stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway on Thursday, handing the reins of the multinational conglomerate to his hand-picked successor, Greg Abel.

Abel, 63, is taking the helm of Berkshire after Buffett, 95, spent six decades transforming a struggling textile manufacturer into one of the world's most successful companies. As the new CEO, Abel will be tasked with upholding Berkshire's decentralized model — one of the company's hallmarks — while guiding it into a new era of growth.

In recent years, that growth has slowed as the company has ballooned in size, making it harder to find large, meaningful acquisition targets.

Buffett tapped Abel as his successor in May, saying at the time that he planned to step down as CEO. The move surprised many investors, as it was widely assumed Abel would not take over until after Buffett's death. While Buffett will no longer run the company, he will remain chairman and continue coming into the office five days a week, giving Abel regular access to his longtime mentor.

Here's what to know about Abel, the new leader of Berkshire Hathaway, and how his leadership approach could differ from Buffett's.

Who is Greg Abel?

Abel, a former amateur hockey player and avid golfer, joined Berkshire in 2000 after serving as CEO of MidAmerican, an Iowa-based utility company. Once at Berkshire, he helped transform the recently acquired MidAmerican into Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the largest producer of wind energy in the country.

Before taking on his new role as CEO, the Canadian executive oversaw Berkshire's non-insurance companies and served as vice chairman of Berkshire's board of directors.

What has Buffett said about Abel?

Buffett has repeatedly expressed confidence in Abel's ability to lead Berkshire's operations, most recently during a CNBC interview, which partially aired on Friday.

Buffet said Abel will be the "decider," adding that he "can't imagine how much more [Abel] can get accomplished in a week than I can in a month."

"I'd rather have Greg handling my money than any of the top investment advisors or any of the top CEOs in the United States," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Buffett also reiterated his belief in Abel's leadership during the final letter he penned to shareholders in November 2025.

"Greg Abel has more than met the high expectations I had for him when I first thought he should be Berkshire's next CEO," he wrote. "He understands many of our businesses and personnel far better than I now do, and he is a very fast learner about matters many CEOs don't even consider."

What sort of changes might Abel make?

CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said it would be natural for Abel to make some changes in the way Berkshire is run. Taking a more traditional approach to leadership with nearly 400,000 employees spread across dozens of subsidiaries makes a lot of sense, she said.

The new CEO has already announced some leadership changes, including the appointment of NetJets CEO Adam Johnson as manager of all of Berkshire's consumer, service and retail businesses.

He will also eventually face more pressure to start paying a dividend. Historically, Berkshire has favored reinvesting profits over making quarterly or annual payouts to shareholders.

While Abel is viewed as more hands-on than Buffett, experts say he's not expected to initiate any major shake-ups at the decades-old company. He's exhibited a commitment to Berkshire's decentralized structure, which gives acquired companies a large degree of autonomy to run their operations.