• Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO, president and board member.
• CFO Colette Kress appointed interim chief executive.
• Board launches leadership search and appoints Harvey C. Jones as chair.
• Nvidia faces an independent investigation and market uncertainty.

GG News Bureau
Santa Clara, 12th Nov: Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive officer (CEO) and a member of the company’s board with immediate effect. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO until a permanent successor is appointed.

The leadership transition follows reports of two extramarital relationships involving Huang, alongside an independent investigation into concerns that he may have been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.

Nvidia’s board has begun the process of identifying a permanent successor, considering both internal and external candidates. The company has also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever board chair.

Kress, who joined Nvidia in September 2013, has led the company’s finance operations for more than a decade. Before joining Nvidia, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft.

Jones said Kress had played a key role in Nvidia’s growth and had a deep understanding of its business, customers and operations. He expressed confidence in her leadership and said the transition would not disrupt the company’s operations, customer commitments or product roadmap.

Kress said she would work with the leadership team to build on Nvidia’s existing foundation, adding that the company’s focus would remain on serving customers, partners, developers and shareholders.

Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led the company for 33 years, will no longer hold an executive position or a seat on its board.

Investigation into national security concerns
Nvidia’s independent directors had initiated an investigation following reports that Huang may have been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The board appointed former acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim and his law firm, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, to lead the independent probe.

The investigation follows reports linking Huang to Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based cloud company Megaspeed. US intelligence officials reportedly suspect her of working for China’s Ministry of State Security. China has denied the espionage allegations.

Megaspeed, an Nvidia cloud partner with access to its chips, has also faced scrutiny over allegations that it helped China obtain advanced artificial intelligence chips restricted under US export controls.

Huang apologised to Nvidia employees earlier this week for being unfaithful to his wife and acknowledged the personal impact of his actions. He also pledged to cooperate fully with the board’s investigation and work to regain confidence in his leadership.

The controversy intensified after reports alleged a separate relationship involving Kimberly Powell, a senior Nvidia executive who reportedly reported directly to Huang. Nvidia and Powell did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report. Reuters said it could not independently verify the allegations.

Shares fall amid leadership change
Nvidia shares fell sharply following reports of the leadership turmoil, declining more than 13 per cent in pre-market trading on Thursday. The stock had closed at $173.73 on Wednesday.

The leadership change comes ahead of Nvidia’s third-quarter fiscal 2027 results, scheduled for November 17. The company has said its results announcement and earnings call will proceed as planned.