Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO After 33 Years

Jensen Huang has stepped down as Nvidia’s President and CEO. He also left the company’s Board of Directors. The move took effect right away, Nvidia said on Thursday.

Huang had led Nvidia for 33 years. He helped build it into the world’s most valuable chipmaker.

Colette Kress Named Interim CEO

Colette Kress will now serve as interim CEO. She will also keep her current job as Chief Financial Officer.

Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013. Before that, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at tech firms, including Cisco and Microsoft.

The Board is now searching for a permanent CEO. It said it will look at both internal and external candidates.

Harvey Jones Becomes First Board Chair

Nvidia also named Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever Board Chair. Jones has worked as an entrepreneur and investor for more than 30 years. He once served as CEO and Executive Chairman of Synopsys.

What Nvidia Said

Nvidia’s release did not give a reason for Huang’s exit. Board Chair Harvey Jones said, “The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team.”

Kress said her focus stays on “serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.” The Board called Huang’s contributions “immeasurable” and his influence “profound.”

Nvidia said it expects no break in its operations. The company also expects no change to its customer deals or product plans.

The Resignation Follows a Board Investigation

Huang’s exit comes four days after Nvidia opened a board investigation. The board had been looking into whether Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.

Reports linked Huang to a Chinese business executive named Alice Huang. The two are not related. US authorities said Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset. China denied this and called it a “groundless accusation.”

Huang also wrote a letter to Nvidia staff. He admitted he had not been faithful to his wife. He gave no other details, and said he would cooperate fully with the investigation.

Nvidia shares fell more than 4% on November 9, after the investigation was announced. The stock dropped to about $177. That drop wiped out roughly $225 billion in value in one day.