FACTS
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive and board member, effective immediately, the company said Thursday, Nov. 12. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor. The announcement followed days of news reports about Huang’s personal conduct and a board review of whether he was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
Huang co-founded Nvidia and led it for 33 years, a period in which the company became the leading supplier of chips used to build artificial intelligence systems.
What Nvidia announced
In a press release from NVIDIA, the company said Kress, its executive vice president and CFO, agreed to serve as interim CEO and will keep her finance role. The board said it will consider internal and external candidates for the permanent job.
The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair. Jones is a former CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys. Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 after nearly 25 years in finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft.
“The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team,” Jones said in the release. He added that “we expect the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.”
Kress said: “Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”
Nvidia said it will still report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, Nov. 17, with a conference call at 2 p.m. Pacific time.
Why Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stepped down
Nvidia’s announcement did not give a reason for the resignation. The Associated Press, in a report published by PBS NewsHour, said it followed reports of extramarital affairs.
On Nov. 8, The New York Times reported that Huang had an affair with a businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence suspects of spying for China, according to the AP. China’s Foreign Ministry called the spying allegations “unsubstantiated.” The same day, Nvidia’s board said a committee of independent directors, with outside counsel, would investigate. The board said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised, and that Huang supported the review.
In a Nov. 9 email to employees quoted by the AP, Huang wrote that he had been “unfaithful to my wife” and that “my actions hurt her and our children.” The Times and Reuters later reported relationships involving Nvidia employees, citing unnamed sources. Nvidia did not address those reports in Thursday’s announcement.
Reaction in Washington
President Donald Trump said the FBI is looking into the matter, the AP reported. Trump called Huang an “honorable guy” and suggested former Apple CEO Tim Cook as a replacement, writing, “Legend replaces a Legend!”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said the administration had “repeatedly undermined the free market economy.” The AP said lawmakers from both parties have called for further investigations. Analysts quoted by the AP said the case could strengthen calls in Washington for tighter limits on chip sales to China. Huang had lobbied for looser limits.
How Nvidia stock reacted
Nvidia shares closed Thursday at $166.19, down 4.34%, after trading as low as $148.80, according to The Motley Fool. The S&P 500 fell 0.36%. Shares of rival chipmakers AMD and Broadcom rose more than 5% each.
“If Nvidia stabilizes quickly under new leadership, the AI infrastructure boom will have demonstrated resilience,” Forrester analyst Stephanie Balaouras told the AP.
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