Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned on Nov. 12, and the company named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO while it searches for a permanent successor. (Foto: Instagram)
Jensen Huang, 63, resigned as Nvidia’s chairman and CEO on Thursday, Nov. 12, with immediate effect. The company named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim CEO while it searches for a permanent successor.
Nvidia’s board confirmed the change and said Kress will continue in her roles as executive vice president and CFO while serving as interim CEO. The board said it is beginning a search for a permanent chief executive and will consider both internal and external candidates.
The leadership change comes as Huang and Nvidia face a shareholder lawsuit alleging fraud tied to Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed who is not related to the CEO. Alice Huang has publicly acknowledged having an extramarital relationship with him. Nvidia, one of the world’s largest chipmakers, is valued at $4.3 trillion, an amount also reported as 23.65 trillion Brazilian reais.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Jose, California. It alleges that Nvidia and Huang misled shareholders about the purported relationship. Shareholders contend the situation raised national security concerns and could harm Nvidia’s reputation and business prospects. These are allegations in the lawsuit, not established findings.
The legal action came as President Donald Trump said the FBI was investigating Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang. The article also reported that Nvidia shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading following reports that the company was preparing to remove Huang. It said that, if the losses were sustained, Nvidia could have lost about $685 billion in market value since the announcement of an internal investigation into the relationship.
