By Anupreeta Das And Erik Holm 

Warren Buffett once said that if he were stuck in a sinking boat with his partner Charles Munger and his deputy Ajit Jain, the most important person to save would be Jain.

The 63-year-old head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s reinsurance business has long been viewed as a front-runner for the top job at the conglomerate. He turned a tiny company in the mid-1980s into a behemoth that has made billions for the Omaha, Neb. conglomerate, and along the way Buffettologists have noted Mr. Buffett's effusive public praise for the Indian-born executive outstripped accolades for any other manager.

Yet Mr. Jain is older than some other Berkshire managers who are perceived as possible successors to Mr. Buffett, and is less known for acquiring other large businesses. One stumble came in 2011 as a bid for Transatlantic Holdings Inc. fell flat. Executives and advisers of the insurer chose to merge with another firm.

Some Berkshire followers think the board might favor a younger CEO who has a longer runway ahead of him, especially as Mr. Buffett is expected to continue running the company for five to eight more years.

Born in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, Mr. Jain got an undergraduate degree in engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur in 1972 and worked as both an engineer and salesman for International Business Machines Corp. in India before going to Harvard University for a business degree, according to Robert Miles, author of "The Warren Buffett CEO," published in 2001. He joined Berkshire in 1986. Mr. Buffett has often said that he speaks to Mr. Jain every day, more than any of the dozens of other Berkshire managers who report to him.

Mr. Jain is best known for his understanding of risks and widely viewed as a tough negotiator who is willing to let a deal go if he can't get the price he wants. Colleagues and rivals describe him as smart, good-natured and quick at cutting to the essence of complicated matters.

He also shares Mr. Buffett's pared-down approach to business. He forgoes the usual raft of consultants, modelers and lawyers that are involved in insurance transactions, and his fellow insurance executives have noted in the past what's most noticeable about his office in Stamford, Conn. is its worn-out carpet and too-close view of passing commuter trains.

Write to Anupreeta Das at anupreeta.das@wsj.com and Erik Holm at erik.holm@wsj.com

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