After days of controversy, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned
Hit the road Jacket.
Nvidia’s founder and CEO Jensen Huang has resigned from his position as leader of one of the most valuable companies in the world.
After days mired in controversy, which began amid reports of Huang’s alleged affair with a Chinese spy, Nvidia has announced Huang’s resignation as company president, chief executive officer, and board member, effective immediately. Finance chief Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO and will remain in the position until a permanent CEO is chosen.
“Colette has helped lead Nvidia through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” Harvey Jones, chair of Nvidia’s board of directors wrote in a statement accompanying the news. “She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing Nvidia’s strategy and advancing its technology roadmap. 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.”
Kress, in the same announcement, says she intends to build on the foundation laid by Huang over the past 33 years, and “continue advancing the work that has made Nvidia a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s no mention of gaming graphics cards in there.
Nvidia’s announcement ends by thanking Huang for his time at the company: “Jensen’s contributions to Nvidia are profound. Nvidia is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”
Nvidia’s board met on Wednesday to decide whether to remove Huang amid allegations he had participated in a second affair, this time with a subordinate, following reports of his alleged affair with a Chinese spy. That initial incident prompted a company-wide apology from Huang and an independent investigation exploring whether he’d been the target of a “foreign intelligence effort”.
Nvidia will likely remain under increased scrutiny moving forward. There are particular concerns around the company’s chips being imported to China despite trade bans.
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