Nvidia announced Thursday that Colette Kress has been named interim CEO following the resignation of co-founder Jensen Huang. Kress, who has served as the company's chief financial officer since joining in 2013, will retain her roles as CFO and executive vice president while the board searches for a permanent successor. The leadership change follows reports of a scandal involving Huang, including an extramarital affair with a direct report and an affair with Alice Huang, a businesswoman whom U.S. officials believe is an asset for China’s Ministry of State Security.
Nvidia's board of directors launched an independent investigation into Huang's activities after reports surfaced regarding his personal life and potential links to Chinese intelligence. According to reports from The New York Times and WIRED, Huang had hired a crisis communications firm last year to manage matters related to his personal life. The investigation follows allegations that a company linked to Alice Huang may have assisted Chinese firms in evading U.S. chip export controls through various subsidiaries.
Board Chair Harvey Jones stated that the board has "full confidence" in Kress, noting she has helped lead the company through a period of extraordinary growth. "The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption," Jones said in a statement.
Kress, 59, has been a central figure in Nvidia's financial operations, overseeing a period in which annual revenue grew from approximately $4.28 billion to nearly $215.9 billion. Before joining Nvidia, she held senior finance roles at Microsoft, Cisco, and Texas Instruments. Analysts noted that Kress was a logical choice for the interim role due to her deep familiarity with the company's product roadmap and her established credibility with Wall Street investors.
In a statement regarding the transition, Kress said, "Nvidia's strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years."
