Ajit Jain
{{short description|Indian-American executive (born 1951)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ajit Jain
| birth_place = Sundargarh, Odisha, India
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| nationality =
| citizenship = United States
| education = IIT Kharagpur (B.Tech)
Harvard University (MBA)
| occupation = Businessman
| title = Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations, Berkshire Hathaway
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| known for =
| boards = Berkshire Hathaway
| spouse = Tinku Jain (m. 1981)
| children =
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Ajit Jain (born 23 July 1951) is an Indian-American executive who is the Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations for Berkshire Hathaway as of January 10, 2018.{{cite news |last1=S |first1=Anusha |last2=Krishnan |first2=Janaki |date=2003-06-27 |title=Warren Buffett testing Indian market |url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/jun/27buffet.htm |url-status=live |publisher=Rediff |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310224114/http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/jun/27buffet.htm| archive-date=2007-03-10 |access-date=2007-03-24}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/10/berkshire-hathaways-warren-buffett-appoints-greg-abel-and-ajit-jain-as-vice-chairmen.html|title=Warren Buffett takes a step closer to naming a successor as Berkshire appoints Abel and Jain to board as vice chairs|last=Kim|first=Tae|date=2018-01-10|work=CNBC|access-date=2018-01-12}} Ajit Jain is an older cousin of Anshu Jain, who was the former Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank.{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/india/421901/the-india-born-banker-who-transformed-deutsche-bank-is-on-his-way-out/|title=The India-born banker who transformed Deutsche Bank is on his way out |publisher=Quartz (publication)|date=June 8, 2015}}
Education
Jain attended Stewart School in Cuttack. In 1972, he graduated from the IIT Kharagpur in India with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering.{{cite news |date=2012-05-08 |title=Ajit Jain leads pack to take over from Warren Buffett |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/ajit-jain-leads-pack-to-take-over-from-warren-buffett/article1-852774.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706144455/http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/ajit-jain-leads-pack-to-take-over-from-warren-buffett/article1-852774.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 6, 2014 |newspaper=Hindustan Times}}{{cite news |last1=Holm |first1=Erik |last2=Ng |first2=Serena |date=2012-05-05 |title=In Ajit Jain, Some See Next Buffett |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303877604577380593015786140 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |pages=B1–B2 |access-date=2015-04-05}}
Career
From 1973 to 1976, Jain worked for IBM as a salesman for their data-processing operations in India. He was named "Rookie of the Year" in his region in 1973.{{cite book|last1=Miles|first1=Robert P.|title=The Warren Buffett CEO: Secrets from the Berkshire Hathaway Managers|date=2001|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=New York|isbn=0-471-44259-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/warrenbuffettceo00robe/page/69 69–70]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/warrenbuffettceo00robe/page/69}} He lost his job in 1976 when IBM discontinued their operation in India because they declined to allow any Indian ownership of the company, as was then required by law.
In 1978, Jain moved to the United States, where he earned an MBA from Harvard University and joined McKinsey & Co. He returned to India in the early 1980s and married. The Jains then moved back to the United States, as Jain's wife preferred to live there.{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2009/mar/06guest-ajit-jain-berkshire-next-oracle.htm |title=Ajit Jain: Berkshire's next Oracle? |publisher=Rediff India Abroad |date=2009-03-06 |access-date=2010-05-15}}
In 1986, he left McKinsey to work on insurance operations for Warren Buffett. Jain was invited by his former boss, Michael Goldberg, who had left McKinsey & Co. to join Berkshire Hathaway in 1982. At the time, he said he knew little about the insurance business.{{cite news |last=Urban |first=Rob |date=2006-07-11 |title=Jain, Buffett Pupil, Boosts Berkshire Cash as Succession Looms |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=us&sid=aHlQC4xTby.8 |work=Bloomberg News |access-date=2006-07-23}}
In the annual letter to shareholders on 2014, it was suggested that both Jain and Greg Abel could be appropriate successors for Warren Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.{{cite web |url=http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2014ltr.pdf |title=Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter for 2014 |quote=his successors would not be 'of only moderate ability.' For instance, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel are proven performers}}{{cite news|date=2015-03-02 |title=Ajit Jain may head Buffett firm |url=http://www.asianage.com/business/ajit-jain-may-head-buffett-firm-896 |newspaper=The Asian Age |agency=Press Trust of India (PTI) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100015/http://www.asianage.com/business/ajit-jain-may-head-buffett-firm-896 |archive-date=2015-04-02 }} In January 2018, Jain was named Berkshire Hathaway's vice chair of insurance operations and appointed to Hathaway's board of directors.
Philanthropy
Jain lives in the New York City area.{{cite news |author=Steve Jordon |date=May 2, 2015 |title=Meet Ajit Jain, the man in charge of Warren Buffett's profit machine |newspaper=Omaha World-Herald |url=http://www.omaha.com/money/buffett/meet-ajit-jain-the-man-in-charge-of-warren-buffett/article_4cfe2a0a-f897-5bd3-ad8a-35f935a5baba.html |access-date=April 24, 2016}}
In 2005, Jain established the Jain Foundation, a non-profit organization located in Seattle, Washington, the mission of which is to cure limb-girdle muscular dystrophies caused by dysferlin protein deficiency, a condition that Jain's son has.{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/news/companies/1111/gallery.big_business_search_cures.fortune/3.html|title=It's personal: Big business searches for cures|access-date=2014-07-27|date = 2011-11-10|work=Fortune}}{{cite news|url=http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/jain-foundation-steps-up-efforts-to-find-cure-for-muscular-dystrophy/81248986/|title=Jain Foundation Steps Up Efforts to Find Cure for Muscular Dystrophy|access-date=2014-07-27|date = 2013-10-16|work=Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- Matthews, Jeff, "Secrets in Plain Sight: Business and Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett," eBooks On Investing, 2012.
{{Berkshire Hathaway}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jain, Ajit}}
Category:Indian emigrants to the United States
Category:Harvard Business School alumni