By Jensen Huang resigned as NVIDIA’s president, CEO, and board member effective immediately. The company confirmed the departure through an SEC filing on November 12.
NVIDIA’s board appointed CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent successor. Additionally, the board named Harvey C. Jones as NVIDIA’s first-ever chair, a role the company never previously filled.
Huang’s 33-year run as NVIDIA’s only CEO ended in a single night.
The resignation followed a week of escalating crises. Huang admitted on Sunday to an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and Megaspeed executive whom US intelligence agencies identified as a suspected spy. Then on Wednesday, a second affair with an NVIDIA employee who reported directly to him, resulting in the board meeting on Wednesday evening, accepting Huang’s resignation, and ending the tenure of the most influential figure in AI hardware.
Before the board’s decision, speculation about Huang’s successor had centered on several names. Ian Buck, the Stanford PhD who created CUDA and leads NVIDIA’s hyperscale AI business, topped Polymarket’s succession odds because of his deep technical credentials. Arm CEO Rene Haas, a former NVIDIA executive, drew attention as the strongest external candidate due to his semiconductor industry experience. NVIDIA veteran Jeff Fisher, who spent 32 years at the company, also appeared in discussions. Even Huang’s two children entered the conversation, since both Spencer and Madison Huang hold executive roles at the company.
However, the board ultimately chose Colette Kress for the interim role because she offers immediate stability for investors and Wall Street heading into next week’s critical earnings call.
Kress brings 13 years of NVIDIA experience to the interim role. She joined the company in 2013 after holding senior positions at Microsoft, Cisco, and Texas Instruments. Because she appeared alongside Huang on every quarterly earnings call, she represents a familiar presence for investors and analysts. She will continue serving as CFO alongside her interim CEO duties until NVIDIA names a permanent replacement.
NVIDIA confirmed that its third-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings report remains scheduled for November 17 at 1:20 p.m. Pacific Time. That call now carries enormous additional significance. Kress will lead it without Huang for the first time in company history. The company guided $108 billion in quarterly revenue for the period. As a result, investors will watch closely for signals about leadership continuity and strategic direction.
The financial damage from the scandal is already substantial. NVIDIA shares lost roughly $600 billion in market value this week. That selloff pushed the company from the world’s most valuable to second most valuable. Prediction market Polymarket had placed the odds of Huang’s departure at 83% before the resignation became official.
In its statement, NVIDIA thanked Huang for what it called “immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.” Kress stated that the company’s strength comes from its people and committed to building on the foundation Huang created. However, she faces an unprecedented challenge. Huang personally managed 60 direct reports, maintained client relationships across global markets, and served as NVIDIA’s most visible ambassador to governments and enterprise customers worldwide.
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