Kathmandu – Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia’s chief executive after 33 years at the helm of the chipmaker he co-founded in 1993. The board named finance chief Colette Kress to lead the company while it searches for his successor.
Mr. Huang also stepped down as president and gave up his board seat. All three changes took effect immediately, Nvidia said in its announcement.
The leadership change follows a November 8 message to employees in which Mr. Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair. He apologized to his family and colleagues and said he would cooperate with an independent board investigation.
The board opened that inquiry after reports that a foreign intelligence operation had targeted Mr. Huang. At the time, directors said they had no reason to believe that company secrets or US national security had been compromised.
Nvidia Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will retain her finance responsibilities as interim chief executive. Ms. Kress joined Nvidia in 2013 after holding finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft.
The board appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first chair and will consider candidates from inside and outside the company for the top job. Nvidia still plans to report its quarterly results on November 17.
Photo: Nvidia (File photo)
