Colette Kress took over as interim CEO of Nvidia on Thursday after Jensen Huang resigned.
The board appointed Kress to lead the world’s most valuable chipmaker while searching for a permanent successor among internal and external candidates, according to an official company announcement. Huang’s departure ended a 33-year run that transformed the graphics card startup into an empire controlling an estimated 90 percent of the advanced artificial intelligence chip market, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Huang Resigns After Investigation
Huang resigned after the board examined his conduct, including an extramarital relationship with an employee and ties to a Singaporean executive suspected of intelligence connections, according to reports in Al Jazeera and Semianalysis.
The board named Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair of the board to oversee governance during the transition. Before joining Nvidia, Kress spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at leading technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft. The board of directors appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever Chair of the Board.
“Colette has helped lead Nvidia through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” Jones said, as published in the company newsroom.
Kress has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer since September 2013.
“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,” interim CEO and CFO Colette Kress said.
Before his forced resignation, Huang had given up and was heard using dismissive phrases and referring to himself in harsh terms, according to reports. His sudden departure follows revelations of relationships that drew intense scrutiny regarding potential national security implications and ties to foreign intelligence efforts.
President Trump defended Huang, noting a recent trip to China where Huang accompanied him. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that the board is evaluating both internal and external candidates for the permanent CEO position, though whether Kress will secure the role on a permanent basis remains unclear.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to the board,” technology and cybersecurity analyst Ritesh Kotak told Al Jazeera.
Among internal contenders for technical leadership, analysts and investors have highlighted Ian Buck and Jonah Alben. Buck, who created CUDA out of his doctoral research at Stanford, joined Nvidia in 2004 and runs the datacenter business as vice president of hyperscale and high-performance computing, frequently taking charge while Huang traveled.
Alben, who has been at Nvidia since 1997, serves as senior vice president of GPU engineering and oversees the design of the company’s GPUs. Additional internal figures mentioned in connection with potential succession include Chris Malachowsky, who co-founded Nvidia with Huang in 1993, as well as global AI infrastructure lead Caprez and executives whose names have been floated by investors, such as Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora.
Stocks Fall on Exit
Nvidia shares fell more than 14 percent on Thursday before recovering some losses, dragging down major US stock indexes, as Al Jazeera reported.
“The risk is less about chip demand than about the money,” David Rosenberg wrote in a note cited by CNN, noting that the company’s financial backstops tie the market together.
The company previously committed $105 billion in August for data center infrastructure guarantees and backed multi-billion-dollar deals across the sector.
Contenders Line Up
President Donald Trump suggested former Apple chief executive Tim Cook for the role in a social media post highlighted by Al Jazeera.
Other potential internal names circulating in industry reports include co-founder Chris Malachowsky, who helped shape the company’s core technologies since 1993, alongside Caprez, who oversees global AI infrastructure growth, as detailed by Axios. Huang’s children, Madison and Spencer, hold executive roles, and Huang previously stated in a Bloomberg interview that they would have to earn any leadership position rather than inherit it.
Nvidia scheduled its third-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results announcement for Tuesday, November 17, at 1:20 p.m. PT, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m. PT, according to the NVIDIA Newsroom.
Earlier coverage: Nvidia's Jensen Huang Admits Affair, Board Launches Inquiry
Worth a look
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Resigns Amid Board Investigation Into Scandal
- Estate Agents Use AI for ‘Housefishing’, Property Experts Say
- Before His Ouster, Jensen Huang Belittled the Executive Replacing Him (newsylist.com)
- Nvidia live updates: Jensen Huang resigns, CFO Colette Kress to serve as interim CEO (headlinez.news)
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