Colette Kress Takes Over as Nvidia’s Interim CEO After Jensen Huang’s Resignation

Colette Kress, Nvidia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, has taken on the role of interim CEO following Jensen Huang’s resignation as the company’s president and chief executive. Kress agreed to serve until Nvidia appoints a permanent successor, and the company has begun considering candidates from both inside and outside its ranks.

Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 and led the financial strategy that helped drive the company’s expansion. Before joining Nvidia, she spent nearly 25 years working in finance at major technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft. She said Nvidia’s strength comes from its employees and pledged to build on the foundation Huang created over the past 33 years. She added that the company would continue its work in accelerated computing and artificial intelligence, while focusing on customers, partners, developers and shareholders.

Nvidia’s board confirmed Huang’s departure and said Kress would serve as interim chief executive until a permanent replacement is named. The board said it had begun the search and would consider internal and external candidates. In its statement, the company praised Huang’s contributions, calling Nvidia one of the world’s most significant technology companies and thanking him for his impact on the company and the industry. The statement did not mention the reported scandals or allegations of Chinese espionage involving the former CEO.

Scrutiny of Huang intensified after The New York Times reported that he had another alleged extramarital relationship, this time with Kimberly Powell, president of Nvidia’s health care division. The newspaper reported that the two were seen in an intimate situation at a hotel in San Jose, California, during a company conference in March. The report and other allegations came as Nvidia was said to be preparing to remove Huang. The company’s shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading following reports of the potential move. If the decline holds, Nvidia could have lost about $685 billion in market value since the company announced an internal investigation into Huang’s relationship with Powell.

Huang is also facing a shareholder lawsuit alleging fraud related to his relationship with Alice Huang, who is described as a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed and is not related to Jensen Huang. Alice Huang has publicly acknowledged an extramarital relationship with him. The lawsuit emerged after Donald Trump said the FBI was investigating the relationship. Nvidia is valued at $4.3 trillion, equivalent to 23.65 trillion Brazilian reais, and is among the world’s largest chipmakers.

A complaint filed in federal court in San Jose alleges that Nvidia and Huang misled shareholders about his alleged involvement with Alice Huang. Shareholders claim the company and its former CEO failed to disclose that the situation raised national security concerns and threatened Nvidia’s reputation and business prospects. These are allegations in the lawsuit; the filing does not establish that the claims are true.