Nvidia announced that Jensen Huang resigned as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately, and named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO. The exit follows reports about his personal ties to a woman U.S. intelligence is believed to view as a Chinese spy. The board has begun a search for a permanent successor.
Nvidia said Jensen Huang resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, according to a company press release. The company did not provide a reason for his departure.
Colette Kress, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, becomes interim CEO and keeps her CFO duties until a permanent successor is named. Huang also left the Board of Directors, which has started a search that will weigh internal and external candidates.
Board names its first chair
The Board appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever Chair. Jones has over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, technology executive and venture investor, including roles as CEO and Executive Chairman of Synopsys.
Jones backed Kress in the company statement. He said that she "has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth".
Scandal preceded the exit
Huang, 63, apologized on Sunday for being unfaithful to his wife, without giving details about his affair with businesswoman Alice Huang. She has worked for Megaspeed, a Chinese company and Nvidia customer, and the U.S. intelligence community is believed to consider her a Chinese spy.
Then The New York Times reported on Thursday that Huang also had a separate affair with Kimberly Powell, the chipmaker's vice president of health care. Later that afternoon, The Times and other outlets reported that Nvidia's board met to discuss the company's future.
Huang denied compromising national security or Nvidia secrets. The board said on Tuesday that it hired Wachtell Lipton to investigate the intelligence allegations.
A $4 trillion company in transition
Huang co-founded Nvidia 33 years ago and, per CNBC, built it into a $4 trillion company. Its stock is up about 14-fold since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022, even after a recent pullback tied to the scandal and the broader selloff in the AI trade.
Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17, with its earnings call at 2 p.m. PT.
Sources: CNBC, Investing.com
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
