Jensen Huang quits as Nvidia CEO amid Chinese spy affair row

New York: Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and board member with immediate effect, the company’s board announced on Thursday, November 12.

Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will be interim CEO while the company looks for a permanent successor. Board member Harvey C Jones has been appointed the first-ever chair of the board. 

The move ends Huang’s 33-year run at the helm of the company he built into the world’s leading maker of AI chips. He founded Nvidia in 1993 and steered its shift from gaming graphics to artificial intelligence (AI). 

Weeks of scandal

The company’s statement gave no reason for the resignation and made no mention of the independent investigation. His exit, however, follows weeks of damaging reports about his personal conduct. 

Huang had been at the centre of a saga over several extramarital affairs, including one with alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang, which pushed Nvidia’s stock to eight-month lows amid national security concerns. The board had launched an independent probe into whether the matter posed a national security risk, given his role in the global AI industry. 

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, Novermber 11, that the board was weighing whether to oust him. The New York Times separately reported an affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care. 

Shares slide

Nvidia shares were down nearly 11 per cent in pre-market trade at USD 154.68, against Wednesday’s close of USD 173.73. 

“We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI,” Kress said in the statement. Jones said the board had full confidence in Kress and expected operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption. 

Huang is Nvidia’s fourth-largest investor with a stake of about 3.61 per cent, but will not stay on the board. The company will report quarterly earnings on November 17 as scheduled, which will be Kress’s first call as interim CEO. 

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