Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO; Colette Kress Named Interim Chief
Jensen Huang has resigned as CEO of Nvidia, effective immediately, ending his 33-year run leading the chipmaker he co-founded. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has been named interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement.
The shake-up comes weeks after Huang admitted to an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence reportedly suspects of gathering information for China, a scandal that sparked a board inquiry, a shareholder lawsuit and a sharp drop in Nvidia's stock.
Huang Leaves the Board, Too
In a statement posted to its newsroom on Thursday, Nov. 12, Nvidia said that "Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately," according to PC Gamer.
The company did not give a reason for his departure. Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has been described as the longest-serving CEO of a major tech company.
His exit from the board is notable. Some had wondered whether Huang's large stake and influence would make it difficult to remove him from the company's leadership.
Who Is Colette Kress?
Kress, Nvidia's executive vice president and CFO, will serve as interim CEO while keeping her finance role. She joined Nvidia in September 2013 after spending nearly 25 years in finance roles at tech companies, including Cisco and Microsoft, according to Investing.com.
"Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders," Kress said in a statement.
Harvey C. Jones, the former CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys, will serve as the first-ever chair of Nvidia's board. "Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth," he said.
The board has begun searching for a permanent CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates.
The Scandal Behind the Exit
The resignation follows weeks of turmoil. The New York Times reported on Oct. 9 that Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International, which bought billions of dollars in Nvidia chips. The two are not related.
According to the Times, U.S. intelligence determined that Alice Huang was gathering information for Beijing. Beijing has denied that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
Huang admitted to the affair in a message to employees, saying he had been "unfaithful" to his wife. "There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry," he wrote.
Nvidia's board opened an inquiry into reports that Huang was the "target of a foreign intelligence effort." PC Gamer also reported a second alleged affair involving an Nvidia executive. That allegation has not been publicly confirmed by Nvidia or Huang.
Earlier this week, shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit accusing Nvidia and Huang of misleading investors by not disclosing the affair. None of the allegations in the suit have been proven in court.
Nvidia Stock Takes Another Hit
Nvidia shares had already fallen to their lowest level since June 2025 after reports that the board was considering removing Huang. After the resignation was announced, the stock fell more than 10%, IBTimes reported. The company is valued at around $4 trillion.
The leadership change comes at a sensitive time for the AI chipmaker, which has faced scrutiny over sales of its advanced chips to China. Earlier this year, the U.S. confirmed that Nvidia had started shipping AI chips to China.
What Comes Next
Investors will get their first look at Nvidia under interim leadership soon. The company is scheduled to report its third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, Nov. 17, followed by an earnings call at 2 p.m. Pacific time.
Nvidia's announcement did not include a statement from Huang about his resignation.
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