What just happened? Jensen Huang has resigned as CEO of Nvidia in what seemed increasingly inevitable. That followed reports that Huang had an extramarital affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy, followed by a more recent revelation of a second alleged affair with Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, Kimberly Powell. Colette Kress, the company’s current executive vice president and chief financial officer, will assume the position of interim CEO.
“The board of directors of Nvidia announced today that Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive officer and board member, effective immediately,” the board said in a statement. “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 concurrently serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a permanent successor is named. The Board is initiating the search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer and will consider internal and external candidates.”
The billionaire CEO’s troubles began when reports surfaced that Huang was in a relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed International. U.S. intelligence officials believe she worked for China’s Ministry of State Security and was tasked with gathering information about American AI technology and possibly influencing the Nvidia chief to push for fewer restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China.
Huang admitted to the extramarital affair on November 8 and apologized to his wife, family and colleagues. Nvidia’s board launched an independent investigation to determine whether company secrets or national security interests had been compromised. However, there was no evidence that this had happened.
Things quickly got worse. Nvidia shares fell nearly 5% after the approval, losing about $190 billion in market value in a single day. A class action lawsuit has also been filed against Huang and the company, accusing them of misleading investors by concealing the relationship.
Then came another revelation that seemingly sealed Huang’s fate. On November 11, reports emerged of a second affair, this time with Powell, who reports directly to Huang. The relationship raised questions about possible violations of Nvidia’s code of conduct.
Despite having expressed his confidence in Huang just three days earlier, Nvidia’s board reportedly met on Wednesday to discuss his removal. His resignation ends his 33-year tenure as the company’s sole CEO. Huang co-founded Nvidia in April 1993 along with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem.
Huang is known for his close relationship with President Donald Trump, having joined his technology advisory board earlier this year. The Nvidia boss has repeatedly praised Trump’s policies and successfully pushed the government to ease restrictions on the export of AI chips to China. Trump even awarded Huang the National Medal of Science in October. The president defended Huang after the affair allegations came to light, calling him an “honorable guy” who had done a “great job” for the country. Trump later said Huang assured him he knew nothing about Alice Huang’s alleged spying activities, a claim the president believed.
Huang also accompanied Trump on a trip to China and in August took a call from the president while discussing AI safety and regulation on stage at the All-In Summit, putting Trump on speakerphone so the audience could hear him.
This story develops…
