TOP 10 | MOST INFLUENTIAL CFOs

Company: Berkshire Hathaway Revenue: US $ 371.4bn Founded: 1839

Few people have ever inherited a harder act to follow. Charles Chang became Chief Financial Officer of Berkshire Hathaway on 1 June 2026, taking the chair Marc Hamburg had held since the early 1990s, and doing so just as Greg Abel succeeded Warren Buffett as Chief Executive. Two of the most storied seats in business changed hands inside six months. Charles, a former PwC partner who ran finance at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, now oversees a deliberately decentralised empire spanning insurance, railroads, energy and a famous mountain of cash. The watch from Wall Street is simple and unforgiving. Does the Buffett model, all patience and capital discipline and almost no head office, survive the handover? Charles holds the ledger as that question gets answered in real time, which makes him the most quietly scrutinised new finance chief in the world this year.

financechief. com

33