(Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway Inc.should look beyond stock pickers when selecting its next chiefexecutive officer.

A CEO should have “a significant array of skills,” Buffett, 84,said Saturday at Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Thebillionaire said he’s unlikely to support someone whose onlyexpertise is in investing, but could accept a candidate who alsohad operational experience.

Shareholders have speculated for years about who will eventuallyreplace Buffett as CEO. The billionaire, who is also chairman, hassaid his son Howard Buffett could replace him as leader of theboard, and that money managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler couldhandle the company’s investments. Berkshire has a stock portfoliovalued at more than $100 billion, including the biggest stakes inWells Fargo & Co. and Coca-Cola Co.

In his annual report to shareholders in February, Buffettoutlined the qualities that he and the board were looking for inhis successor, while keeping the leading candidate’s identitysecret. He wasn’t asked directly at Saturday’s meeting about whowill be the next CEO.

Investors have speculated that Ajit Jain and Greg Abel are theleading candidates. Both were named in a separate letter thatBerkshire Vice Chairman Charles Munger, 91, wrote in the annualreport. Munger described them as examples of “world- leading”executives who are in some ways better than Buffett. Jain, 63, runsBerkshire’s namesake reinsurance operation, while Abel, 52,oversees the energy-utility business.

Buffett fueled Berkshire’s earlier growth by investing premiumsheld at insurance units in stocks. Over his five-decade tenure atthe company, the balance shifted more toward operating wholly andmajority-owned businesses. Its operations now includemanufacturers, retailers and BNSF, one of the largest U.S.railroads.

Buffett’s Learning

“I’ve learned a lot from operations that I wouldn’t have learnedif I’d stayed in investments all my life,” Buffett said.

Combs and Weschler, former hedge fund managers, were hired inthe past five years to help run investments. Since then, theirduties have expanded. They’ve helped their boss vet possibleacquisitions and he’s praised their dedication to Berkshire.

On Saturday, Buffett said both had a deep understanding ofbusinesses’ competitive strengths and good character, a trait thathe said is sometimes lacking among money managers.

The billionaire said that he and Munger had run into plenty of“dysfunctional people with 160 IQs,” including when Buffett ledSalomon Inc.

“We’ve specialized in them,” Munger said Saturday.

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