Jensen Huang Resigns as NVIDIA CEO; Colette Kress Interim CEO

NVIDIA said on Nov. 12 that co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as president, chief executive and board member effective immediately, and that CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while keeping her finance role.

The company's board announced the change in a press release published at 13:51 UTC. It named Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys chief executive and executive chairman, as the board's first-ever Chair, and said it has started a search for a permanent CEO that will consider internal and external candidates. A Form 8-K filed with the SEC the same morning says the board accepted Huang's resignation on Nov. 11. The filing gives Kress's age as 59 and says Jones, 73, has served on the board since 1993. Neither the release nor the filing gives a reason for Huang's departure, and the release carries no statement from him.

This follows the Wall Street Journal report that NVIDIA's board was preparing to remove Huang, which Voltgrid covered earlier on Nov. 12, and the board's Nov. 8 decision to open an independent probe. NVIDIA's release now confirms a leadership change that had until then been reported by outlets.

Market reaction

Fox Business reported that NVIDIA shares fell more than 10% in premarket trading after the announcement. The stock had already dropped 7.6% to $160.50 shortly before 8 a.m. ET, according to the outlet. Fox Business also said Intel, Marvell Technology and Micron Technology fell between 2.7% and 3.5% premarket, CoreWeave dropped about 7%, and AMD and Broadcom rose 2.3% and 1.4%. Premarket quotes are indicative and can move before the open.

CNBC's live coverage said NVIDIA was heading for a sixth straight weekly decline, the longest slump since 2012, and had fallen behind Apple in the ranking of the world's largest companies.

What the board says stays the same

Jones said in the release that the board expects the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption. Kress said in the same release that she is committed to building on the foundation Huang created over 33 years. She has been NVIDIA's CFO since September 2013 and spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft before that, according to the company.

For customers buying accelerators and racks, the practical question is continuity of supply and roadmap commitments. NVIDIA said it will still report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at about 1:20 p.m. PT, with its earnings call at 2 p.m. PT.

Context from the coverage

CNBC reported that Huang, 63, apologized on Nov. 8 for being unfaithful to his wife and has denied allegations that he compromised national security or NVIDIA secrets. CNBC linked the departure to reports surrounding that matter, but the company's release does not make that connection. CNBC also said the board hired the law firm Wachtell Lipton on Nov. 10 to investigate the intelligence allegations.

On succession, CNBC said analysts have named several internal possibilities. None has been nominated: NVIDIA has named only Kress, as interim, and says the search is open to outside candidates.

What is not confirmed yet

NVIDIA has not said why Huang resigned, whether the board's outside inquiry has finished, or when it expects to name a permanent CEO. The premarket share moves come from one outlet and will change when trading opens. The company has not said whether Huang keeps any role or advisory arrangement. The 8-K describes no severance or separation terms.