Jensen Huang, the high-flying founder and CEO of one of the most valuable companies in the world, resigned today following a meeting by Nvidia‘s board of directors.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over as interim chief executive as the giant chip maker looks for a permanent successor, the company said. Nvidia announced the CEO transition following a board meeting Wednesday amid a scandal around the founder that exploded into public view over the past few weeks of Huang’s extramarital affair with a former Chinese state TV reporter turned data center executive.
Alice Huang (no relation) works for a company that is one of Nvidia’s biggest customers in Southeast Asia, The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials believed that the exec was passing information on to the Chinese government. The paper reported yesterday that the married Nvidia CEO also had an affair with an executive at his own company.
The NYT also reported that U.S. intelligence officials had made the White House aware of Huang’s involvement with a Chinese spy, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly briefing president Donald Trump, who considers Jensen Huang a friend. Trump, and Huang, both denied knowing that Alice Huang had been collecting intelligence for Beijing.
Jensen Huang cut a singular figure earning fame beyond the tech world for his Tom Ford leather jackets as well as his company’s dominance in the booming AI chip market. He appeared on the cover of the Time 100 issue of that same magazine in 2021. He and seven other industry CEOs graced the cover of the publication’s fabled “Person of the Year” issue. They were honored collectively as “the architects of AI.”
Even after dropping in recent weeks amid the scandal, Nvidia was still valued at nearly 4.2 trillion at the end of trading on Wednesday. That makes it the second most valuable company in the world, trailing only Apple. The share are down 8% after market open.
“Jensen’s contributions to NVIDIA are profound. NVIDIA is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry,” the company said in its announcement Thursday morning.
The board is initiating a search for a permanent CEO and said it will consider internal and external candidates. In another move, it appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair of the board. Jones has been an entrepreneur, technology executive, and active venture investor for over 30 years, including serving as chief executive and executive chairman of Synopsys.
Kress has served as EVP and CFO since joining Nvidia in 2013. She previously spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at leading tech companies including Cisco and Microsoft.
“Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” said Jones. “She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing NVIDIA’s strategy and advancing its technology roadmap. The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.”
Said Kress: “NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years. We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”
Jill Goldsmith contributed to this report
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong.
