The leadership shake-up—a remarkable turn of events for a company central to the AI data center boom—came after Nvidia’s board said Sunday that it would investigate Jensen Huang’s relationship with a tech executive reportedly believed by U.S. officials to be a Chinese spy.
Nvidia’s board said Thursday that Jensen Huang has resigned from the company as CEO, president and a member of the board after the leader became embroiled in scandal by reported affairs he had with a Chinese tech executive and an Nvidia executive.
The board of directors said it has named Nvidia CFO and Executive Vice President Colette Kress as its interim CEO as it starts a search for a permanent successor, which will consider internal and external candidates. The board said it also appointed former Synopsys CEO and Executive Chairman Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair.
[Related: Feds Arrest Solution Provider Owner In Alleged $300M GPU Server Smuggling Scheme]
The board’s announcement did not include a quote from Huang, but it called his contributions to Nvidia as co-founder, president and CEO “profound.” It also thanked him “for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”
The leadership shake-up—a remarkable turn of events for one of the world’s most valuable companies at the center of the AI data center boom—came after the board said Sunday that it would investigate Huang’s relationship with a tech executive reportedly believed by U.S. officials to be a Chinese spy. While the board stood behind Huang at the time, The New York Times reported Wednesday that Huang also had an extramarital relationship with Nvidia’s vice president of health care, Kimberly Powell, who reported directly to him.
After the board announced its investigation into Huang’s relationship with the Chinese tech executive—who worked for an Nvidia partner called Megaspeed—some channel partners told CRN that they had heard from a few customers who feel uneasy about the ordeal’s security implications and at least one customer that is putting the brakes on a purchase.
“They didn’t want to make an investment if there was an investigation [and it] came back with an outcome of something not good for Nvidia or them,” said one systems integrator CEO, who asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly, adding that the systems integrator considers the customer to be a “very conservative company.” “They want to stay as compliant as possible.”
Kress, who has been with Nvidia since 2013, 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.”
“We will continue advancing the work that has made Nvidia a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead,” she said in a statement. “Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”
Jones recognized Kress for helping “lead Nvidia through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position.”
“She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing Nvidia’s strategy and advancing its technology roadmap,” he wrote. “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.”
