GeicoChairman Tony Nicely, right, appears with the Geico gecko mascotduring a ceremony in Trenton, New Jersey on Monday, August 16,2004. (Photo: Curt Hudson/ Bloomberg News)

Warren Buffett used his annual letter to heap praise on Tony Nicely,the long-time chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Geico insuranceunit.

Nicely retired as CEO in 2018

The letter also offered some perhaps surprising news: Nicelyretired as CEO last year.

Nicely handed off the reins of the second-largest U.S. autoinsurer to president Bill Roberts on June 30, according to theletter. Nicely, who first joined Geico at age 18 in 1961, isremaining chairman.

Geico, which is wholly owned by Berkshire, didn't publiclyannounce the move, unlike when Roberts was named president in 2013.A September press release about Geico breaking ground on a newoffice in Tucson, Arizona, identified Roberts as CEO, while aregulatory filing two months later still listed Nicely as CEO.

Boosted sales 1,200%

Roberts has big shoes to fill, as Buffett credited Nicely forboosting sales 1,200% since Berkshire bought the company in1995.

“By my estimate, Tony's management of Geico has increasedBerkshire's intrinsic value by more than $50 billion,” Buffettwrote in Saturday's letter. “He is a model for everything a managershould be.”

In 2018, Geico's underwriting profit was $2.4 billion,rebounding from a $310 million loss the previous year when it washit by costs from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Policy sales jumped12% to $34.1 billion.

Related: Battle for auto insurance consumers: Who'swinning?

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