Nvidia’s board of directors has confirmed today that Jensen Huang has resigned as the company's CEO. The news follows revelations that Huang had been involved in not one but two extramarital affairs, one with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset, and another with his direct report, Nvidia’s VP of health care, Kimberly Powell.
"NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) Board of Directors announced today that Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately," the board stated. "Colette Kress, current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NVIDIA, has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Kress will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer while serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a permanent successor has been named. The Board is initiating a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer and will consider internal and external candidates."
In recent weeks, stories have come to light alleging that Huang was involved in an overly familiar relationship with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, whom U.S. intelligence agencies suspect may be a Chinese intelligence asset. It was reported that the AI GPU giant’s CEO may have been the target of a spy plot — Megaspeed is under investigation for its involvement in the smuggling of $2 billion worth of export-controlled AI GPUs into China.
Nvidia shares plunged more than 10 percent in early market trading following the news, and are now down more than 23% in the last month.
Over the weekend, Jensen Huang admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife and issued a company-wide apology. Separately, Nvidia’s Board of Directors launched an independent investigation into reports that Huang’s entanglement may be a matter of national security, given his role in the global AI revolution.
Colette Kress has been Nvidia's Executive Vice President and CFO since September 2013; prior to that, she spent 25 years at Cisco and Microsoft, among others.
Just a couple of days later, a second bombshell report emerged claiming that Jensen Huang was also romantically involved with Powell, one of his direct reports at the company. Reports indicate the affair was known within the company, and that the two were even filmed being affectionate in a San Jose hotel at Nvidia GTC. Security allegedly sequestered a bystander who filmed the interaction on camera and made the person an offer to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Nvidia also announced that Harvey C. Jones will serve as the company's first-ever Chair of the Board; he has previously served as CEO and Executive Chairman of Synopsys.
