Longtime JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon poached a senior figure from Warren Buffett's inner circle, and the legendary investor was surprisingly OK with it. In December 2025, Dimon hired Todd Combs, the former Geico CEO, away from Berkshire Hathaway, hand-picking him to lead a $10 billion investment group as part of the bank's Security and Resiliency Initiative, an effort aimed at helping companies accelerate manufacturing.

Speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event in January, Dimon said he called Buffett personally to deliver the unwelcome news. He claimed Buffett accepted the outcome, preferring that his former executive land at JPMorgan than anywhere else.

“It's a free country, and people make their own decisions,” Dimon said. “I did call Warren. He probably wouldn't have preferred it, but he said, 'if he's going anywhere, at least he's going to you.'”

Buffett's assistant confirmed the accuracy of the account.

Why the hire matters

In a market saturated with executive moves, Dimon's capture of Combs stands out because Berkshire Hathaway is a decentralized empire that draws its strength from the long tenures of its leaders and minimal churn at the top. Its executives are often seen as stewards of a culture—built over Buffett's own six-decade tenure—that prizes patience and discipline.

Combs, a former hedge fund manager, had been at Berkshire since 2010, when Buffett brought him on as one of two investment managers tasked with picking stocks for the conglomerate. During the succession race to replace Buffett, Combs was positioned as a key leader to assist Greg Abel, who took over as CEO in January. According to his hiring announcement, he also served nine years on JPMorgan's board. Those nine years of board service meant Combs did not arrive as a stranger: he stepped into the executive suite already familiar with the bank's leadership,, and culture.

$5 billion already committed

Since joining JPMorgan in January, Combs has quickly put his investment experience to work. His investment group has already committed $5 billion of the $10 billion initially allocated to it, according to a recent announcement. With the remaining half of the allocation still to deploy, the pace and targets of the group's future commitments offer the most concrete early yardstick for Combs's tenure at the bank.

Berkshire, meanwhile, has entered a new era under new leadership. Abel replaced Buffett as CEO in January after 55 years with the legendary investor at the helm. The 96-year-old also officially stepped down as chairman last month, handing the role to his son Howard. Buffett remains on Berkshire's board. For the first time in more than six decades, the conglomerate is operating without Buffett as either CEO or chairman, with him holding only a board seat.

'One of the greatest investors and leaders'

Announcing the hiring, Dimon singled out Combs's investment prowess and his years working alongside Buffett.

“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,” Dimon said in a statement.

David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland who runs a Warren Buffett blog, suggested that Combs's reverence for Buffett may have directly influenced the hiring. In an interview earlier this year with Business Insider, Kass said: “Dimon may very well have viewed Combs as a close proxy for Buffett himself. Although Dimon could not hire Buffett, he could hire one of his protégés.”

Dimon's long admiration for Buffett

Dimon has long admired Buffett. In May 2025, as Buffett announced he was stepping down from the CEO role, Dimon praised him as a friend and said he had learned from him.

“Warren Buffett represents everything that is good about American capitalism and America itself — investing in the growth of our nation and its businesses with integrity, optimism, and common sense,” Dimon said at the time, according to Reuters.

Succession questions of Dimon's own

Though a couple of decades younger than Buffett, Dimon, 70, has faced his own questions about when he will step aside. He has served as CEO of JPMorgan since 2006 and has been reluctant to put a clean end date on his tenure, spending years deflecting retirement questions with a rolling horizon. He changed his tone only in 2024, saying the timeframe had shortened and succession plans were “well on the way.”

This year, Dimon again suggested he was in no hurry to retire, telling an audience in January that he wanted to remain CEO for “at least” five more years. In June, JPMorgan elevated two executives, Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh, to co-presidents, and in July Dimon said the timetable for his retirement was essentially unchanged and ultimately up to the bank's board. Until that decision comes, the co-president structure gives the clearest public view yet of the leadership bench JPMorgan is building behind a CEO who says he is in no rush to go.

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on Jan. 16, 2026. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.