Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO, Colette Kress named interim chief as shares fall about 4.8 per cent
Harvey Jones becomes Nvidia's first-ever board chair as Huang also leaves the board.
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Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia chief executive, the company said on Thursday 12 November, and chief financial officer Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO while the board looks for a permanent successor, Reuters reported. Nvidia said it is considering both internal and external candidates.
What happened as Jensen Huang resigns
Reuters said Huang announced he would resign after reports of extramarital affairs with an alleged Chinese spy and with a company executive. Nvidia has not commented beyond its statement announcing the resignation. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC the board made the decision overnight, worked late into the night on its communications plan and made the official decision on Thursday morning before naming Kress.
Huang, Nvidia’s fourth-largest shareholder with a stake of about 3.61 per cent, will exit the board as well, Reuters said. Nvidia named former Synopsys CEO and board member Harvey Jones as its first-ever board chair.
Key numbers
- About 4.8 per cent: the fall in Nvidia shares, paring earlier losses, according to Reuters.
- About 6 per cent: the rise in shares of rivals AMD and Broadcom, per Reuters.
- About 3.61 per cent: Huang’s stake in Nvidia, which makes him its fourth-largest shareholder.
- 18 November: the date of a company meeting that Kress announced in a memo to employees.
- Seven-fold: the rise in Nvidia’s shares through early October, which took its market value close to US$6 trillion at one point, Reuters said.
Nvidia interim CEO: what Colette Kress told staff
“The Board, Estaff (executive staff) and I recognise that this has been an extraordinarily difficult period,” Kress wrote in a memo to employees, Reuters reported. She added that the company will host a meeting on 18 November. Kress was gathering Nvidia’s executive team at its headquarters on Thursday, CNBC reported.
Nvidia’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission says the board accepted the resignation effective immediately and appointed Kress, 59, as interim chief executive while it searches for a permanent one.
Huang testify Congress plan and Washington reaction
CNBC reported that Huang had agreed to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving. Reuters said the crisis has threatened to implicate some Trump administration members, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who faces growing questions over oversight of chip sales to China. President Donald Trump wrote on social media that “there is only one man to take his place”, naming Apple’s Tim Cook, according to Reuters.
Ann Lipton, a corporate governance professor at the University of Colorado, said in an email to CNBC that the resignation “demonstrates the seriousness of the underlying allegations”. She said the board would need to move swiftly to present a succession plan.
Background: the Nvidia board crisis
Our earlier report on the Nvidia board’s preparations to remove Huang covered the first days of the crisis, and a later report covers the closed-door testimony Huang has agreed to give. Reuters said his exit could have far-reaching consequences for US chip export policy and the wider AI industry, given his push to keep access to the Chinese market and his close ties to Trump.
What happens next
Nvidia holds its company meeting on 18 November, and Huang is due to appear before Congress before Thanksgiving. After Jensen Huang resigns, the board must pick a permanent chief executive, and Reuters said both internal and external names are under review. The Huang resignation also leaves Kress running the company while she remains chief financial officer.
Nvidia is central to the AI hardware market and to US chip export policy toward China, so the loss of its founder and the open search for a successor affects investors, rivals such as AMD and Broadcom, and regulators. Huang's agreed testimony before Congress adds a political track that could run alongside the board's succession process.