Jensen Huang, the co-founder and face of NVIDIA, has resigned from his position as the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. His resignation goes into effect with immediate effect.
Huang’s resignation effectively marks the end of an era, as he has also given up his seat on the Board of Directors. The company’s current vice president and CFO, Colette Kress, will serve as interim CEO until the company finds a suitable successor for the role.
In addition to Kress’ appointment, the company has also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever Chair of the Board. According to the statement, Jones previously served as the CEO and Executive Chairman at Synopsys.
“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.”
“Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” said Harvey Jones, Chair of its Board of Directors. “She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing the brand’s strategy and advancing its technology roadmap. 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.”
It’s been a tumultuous week for Huang, to put it mildly. On 8 November, Huang published an apology on the company’s site, apologising and acknowledging his affair with Alice Huang, a former executive of Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based cloud computing company, as well as being accused of being a Chinese spy. At this point, the company’s Board of Directors ordered an investigation to be conducted against Huang.
Shortly after, news broke of a second extramarital affair came to light, this time with Kimberly Powell. Unlike the female Huang, Powell was NVIDIA staff and, more specifically, she was the vice president of health for the company.
“Jensen’s contributions to NVIDIA are profound. NVIDIA is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”
(Source: NVIDIA)
