Colette Kress takes over as interim CEO while the board weighs candidates
Nvidia has begun the search for its next chief executive after CEO Jensen Huang resigned, and the company said finance chief Colette Kress has agreed to serve as interim CEO until a permanent successor is named.
Huang resigned after two extramarital affairs, including one with a suspected Chinese spy and another with an employee.
The company’s board said it would consider internal and external candidates. The board also appointed longtime director Harvey C. Jones to become Nvidia’s first-ever chair.
Shares in the chip giant fell as much as 14% following Huang’s resignation before regaining their footing and finishing the day 4.3% lower.
The resignation marks a sharp comedown for a company whose sought-after chips have powered the AI boom and juiced the stock portfolios of millions of investors.
Nvidia’s market cap hit a high of about $5.8 trillion before its stock price tumbled as the scandal unfolded.
The company was started in 1993 as a designer of graphics chips for videogames. Huang had a successful record of venturing into what he called “$0 billion markets.”
Until the board names a permanent successor, Kress will run Nvidia as interim CEO, with Jones serving as the company’s first chair.