Nvidia is now led by its chief financial officer, Colette Kress, after Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive on Thursday. Kress will serve on an interim basis until the board names a full-time successor.
Huang stepped down as CEO, president and board member, effective immediately. His exit followed reports of extramarital affairs, including one with a woman alleged to be a Chinese spy.
The board’s statement did not mention the scandal. It thanked Huang for his “immeasurable contributions” and called his work at the company “profound.”
A New Leadership Structure
Nvidia also appointed Harvey Jones, a tech investor and entrepreneur, as chair. It is the first time the company has had a chair.
Huang ran the chipmaker tightly, with about 60 direct reports. That structure is unusual among leaders of large tech companies.
The board said it will consider both internal and external candidates for the top job. Internal names include Kress and Ian Buck, who oversees Nvidia’s AI hardware and software products.
Outside names linked to the role include Lisa Su, chief executive of AMD, and Rene Haas, chief executive of Arm Holdings. Former Apple CEO Tim Cook, who left that role in September but remains executive chair, has also been mentioned.
President Donald Trump backed Cook in a social media post on Thursday. “A Legend replaces a Legend!” he wrote, after earlier defending Huang as the scandal grew.
Huang’s two children, Madison and Spencer, also work at Nvidia. Both are in their mid-30s and relatively inexperienced.
How the Scandal Unfolded
Earlier this week, the board hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang. She is an Nvidia customer and Chinese citizen who is not related to him.
Alice Huang heads Megaspeed, a datacenter company based in Singapore. Multiple reports say US intelligence services suspect she is a Chinese asset.
Jensen Huang admitted on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife, Lori, without naming Alice Huang. He has denied knowing of any alleged ties to the Chinese government and has agreed to testify before Congress.
The law firm had told Huang to keep leading the company during the probe. That changed late Wednesday, when the New York Times reported a separate affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare.
Powell was reportedly filmed being affectionate with Huang at a hotel during a company conference in March. The board met that night to discuss his future.
Nvidia shares fell 13% at Thursday’s open before partly recovering to close down 4.3%. The drop erased more than $180 billion in value on the day and about $490 billion over the week, leaving the company worth $4 trillion.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and owns more than 870 million shares, about 3.6% of the company. Bloomberg valued his fortune at $145 billion on Thursday morning.
Tech analyst Dan Ives said the board needed to “rip off the Band-Aid” and that Nvidia remains ahead of rivals. Neil Wilson of Saxo UK said the company will need a “great CEO” to replace Huang’s technical knowledge.
After the resignation, Reuters reported a third alleged affair with another Nvidia employee, citing two people familiar with the matter. The woman was not named.
