Nvidia has named longtime finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO, effective November 12, after Jensen Huang resigned from the role. The board said it would begin a formal search and consider candidates from both inside and outside the company. Nvidia shares fell more than 10% at one point in premarket trading, putting the leadership transition and a board investigation in focus for investors.
The change ends Huang's 33-year tenure as CEO. The board had been investigating whether he was a target of a “foreign intelligence operation.” In a memo, Huang also acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife. Details of the investigation and the personal relationship controversy have not been fully disclosed.
Kress to lead Nvidia's November 17 earnings call
Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 and has spent 13 years at the company. She has overseen its finances during the expansion of its AI business and has regularly represented Nvidia at investor meetings and industry events, discussing its business strategy. Her total compensation for the previous fiscal year was about $14.3 million.
As interim CEO, Kress will lead the company's earnings call on November 17. Investors will be watching for continuity in Nvidia's financial communications and for any indication of how the leadership change could affect business execution and decision-making. The board has not provided a timetable for selecting a permanent CEO.
Kress has spoken about the commercial potential of AI agents. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, she said agents could take on tasks and support employees, while cautioning that the transition would take time. She also said AI development was driving greater demand for computing. Kress has helped shape Nvidia's partnerships with major cloud providers, startups and other computing companies.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, wrote in a note to investors that Kress had built strong credibility inside and outside Nvidia, and that she would now lead a major company in the AI industry. Her visibility in finance and investor relations is notable, but the board has yet to decide on a permanent successor.
Board appoints Harvey C. Jones as first chairman
Nvidia also announced that Harvey C. Jones would become its first chairman. A veteran of the semiconductor industry, Jones has served on the board since Nvidia's founding and is managing partner of Square Wave Ventures.
Huang maintained a relatively flat management structure, with as many as about 60 direct reports. Kress reported directly to Huang, an arrangement that had kept succession planning in focus. The board has said it will consider both internal and external candidates but has not disclosed a shortlist.
Before joining Nvidia, Kress held finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft and worked in several finance positions at Texas Instruments. For investors, the confirmed changes are Kress's interim appointment, Jones's appointment as chairman and the November 17 earnings call. The permanent CEO selection and the status of the investigation remain unresolved.