Jensen Huang, the co-founder who built Nvidia into an artificial intelligence powerhouse over 33 years, resigned Thursday as president, chief executive officer and board member. The chipmaker’s board of directors announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has been appointed interim CEO while continuing her financial duties. Venture investor and entrepreneur Harvey C. Jones was also named the board’s first-ever chair, and directors confirmed they will evaluate both internal and external candidates to permanently lead the firm.
Huang’s resignation follows mounting scrutiny over two reported extramarital relationships, including an affair with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based firm Megaspeed whom U.S. intelligence officials suspect of feeding information to Beijing. Controversy intensified Wednesday after media reports revealed Huang also had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia vice president who reported directly to him. Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife in a Nov. 8 message to employees, apologized to his family and colleagues and pledged to cooperate with the investigation. While Nvidia previously stated it had “no reason to believe” company secrets or national security were compromised, the board launched an independent investigation, and the FBI is also conducting an inquiry.
Huang’s departure represents a major leadership transition for a company that became central to the global artificial intelligence industry under his direction. Founded in 1993, NVIDIA evolved from a graphics processor manufacturer into the leading supplier of advanced chips used to develop and operate AI systems. Kress joined NVIDIA in 2013 and previously held financial leadership positions at Cisco and Microsoft. The board also appointed technology executive and investor Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chairman. In announcing the leadership changes, NVIDIA indicated that it expects its business operations, customer commitments and product development plans to continue without disruption. The company is scheduled to report its third-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results Nov. 17.
The shake-up also triggered immediate market turbulence, sending Nvidia shares tumbling roughly 10% in premarket trading Thursday and capping a weekly market value loss of $888 billion. In her first public remarks since taking the helm, Kress sought to steady nerves ahead of the company’s Nov. 17 earnings report, stating, “Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.” The board formally thanked Huang for his leadership, noting that “NVIDIA is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world.”
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