Jensen Huang has resigned as president, CEO and board member of Nvidia, effective immediately, according to an announcement by the company's board on November 12, 2026.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was named interim CEO while retaining her CFO duties, as the board seeks a permanent successor from both internal and external candidates. Harvey Jones, former Synopsys CEO, was appointed the first chair of Nvidia's board.
What happened?
Huang's departure follows board investigations into his personal relationships. Reports indicated an involvement with Alice Huang (no known relation), an executive linked to data center company Megaspeed and identified by U.S. authorities as a possible Chinese intelligence asset. Huang admitted infidelity to his wife and publicly apologized to his family and employees. Later, The New York Times reported a second relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reported directly to him.
The board opened an independent investigation and, after a meeting, accepted the resignation. Nvidia shares fell sharply on the announcement, with billions in market value wiped out that day. The company stated that operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap will continue without interruption.
Why it matters
Huang led Nvidia for 33 years, since its founding in 1993, transforming the company from a gaming GPU maker into the primary infrastructure provider for artificial intelligence. His exit marks the end of an era and introduces uncertainty in the strategic direction of a company central to the AI boom, including chip export policies and government relations.
Colette Kress, CFO since 2013, is a familiar figure to the market with deep knowledge of the business. The board expressed full confidence in her and the leadership team.
Sources: Official Nvidia board announcement, reports from Reuters, Wired, The Guardian, The New York Times and CNN.
Image credit: Reuters / Ryan Young (Wired)
By Grok
