Jensen Huang resigned as NVIDIA’s president, chief executive, and board member on November 12, effective immediately. The board appointed CFO Colette Kress interim CEO and began searching for a permanent replacement. Huang had led NVIDIA since co-founding the company in 1993. NVIDIA’s transition announcement
The departure follows days of escalating scrutiny over Huang’s personal relationships and reports of a foreign intelligence effort targeting him. NVIDIA announced the leadership change while its independent investigation was underway.
The board opened an investigation on November 8
The crisis began with reporting about Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International. The Associated Press reported allegations that she acted as a Chinese intelligence asset. China denied an operation targeting the NVIDIA chief. The intelligence allegations remain subject to investigation. Associated Press reporting
On November 8, Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair in a message to employees. He accepted responsibility for his conduct and said he would cooperate with the board’s investigation into the national security concerns raised by the reporting. His statement did not establish whether sensitive company information had been compromised. Huang’s employee message
The board announced an independent inquiry the same day. At the time, directors said they had no reason to believe NVIDIA secrets or national security had been compromised, but committed to examining the available information. That statement described the board’s position at the start of the investigation. November 8 board statement
On November 10, the independent directors appointed former acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the investigation. Investigator appointment
A second allegation emerged on November 11. The New York Times reported a relationship between Huang and Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA’s vice president of healthcare, who reported to him. Reuters attributed the allegation to the Times and said Reuters had not independently verified the account. Reports of board discussions about removing Huang followed. Reuters reporting
Kress leads NVIDIA during the CEO search
Kress retains her CFO responsibilities while serving as interim CEO. She joined NVIDIA in September 2013 after finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft. Directors will consider internal and external candidates for the permanent position.
NVIDIA also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first board chair. Jones previously served as CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys. In the transition announcement, the board expressed confidence in Kress and the leadership team and said it expected operations, customer commitments, and the product roadmap to continue without interruption.
The company’s next scheduled financial update is November 17, when NVIDIA will report its third-quarter fiscal 2027 results and hold an earnings call. Leadership appointments and earnings schedule
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