Jensen Huang, who co-founded NVIDIA in 1993 and led it since, resigned as president and CEO and as a director effective the same day, the company said on November 12, ITmedia News reported, with CFO Colette Kress taking over as interim CEO.
The board has begun selecting a permanent CEO and will consider candidates from inside and outside the company. Kress joined NVIDIA in September 2013 and has served as senior vice president and CFO.
The board also named director Harvey C. Jones, former CEO of Synopsys, as its first board chair. Jones said he expects business operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption. The quarterly earnings release will go ahead as scheduled on the 17th.
Reports on foreign influence and personal conduct
US intelligence agencies were aware that a business figure close to Huang was suspected of cooperating with a Chinese intelligence agency, the New York Times and other outlets reported. Huang apologized to employees in a message on the 8th, admitting to infidelity toward his wife. The newspaper reported on the 11th that Huang had also had an affair with an executive who reported directly to him.
On the 8th, the board announced an independent investigation following reports that Huang had been a target of operations by a foreign intelligence agency. It said it saw no reason to believe national security or NVIDIA secrets had been compromised, and that it trusted Huang and management. Reuters and other outlets reported that the board would meet on the evening of the 11th to decide whether to remove him.
Huang, known for the black leather jacket he wears at product launches, had become the public face of the AI boom that made NVIDIA one of the world's most valuable companies. His departure tests how much of that value rests on the company rather than on its founder.