Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia chief executive and CFO Colette Kress steps in as interim CEO
Nvidia’s board hands the company to its longtime finance chief, names its first board chair and starts a search for a permanent successor.
Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive of Nvidia on Thursday after he reportedly had two affairs, including one with a purported Chinese spy1,5. The board named longtime chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive and launched a search for a permanent replacement1,4.
Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013, will keep her post as chief financial officer while she oversees the company, the chipmaker said1,2. The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones as Nvidia’s first-ever board chair, and the new chair pledged to “deliver”1,2.
The resignation follows revelations earlier this week that Huang had admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman the US government believes to be a Chinese intelligence asset8. Washington has also investigated the company over suspicions that it helped China obtain advanced AI chips restricted under US export controls, according to reports6.
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Why it matters to investors
Nvidia’s size, financial resources and strategic position in the AI boom have made both the chipmaker and Huang personally pillars of the industry that now drives the stock market and the economy8. Chief executive scandals usually weigh on a company’s shares, but no other company occupies quite the same place in that ecosystem8.
Wall Street sources have warned that Huang’s departure could be the catalyst that endangers a ballooning AI bubble1. Huang has been described as the AI world’s central bank chairman and security blanket, always ready to underwrite its least underwritable corners, and his exit has been framed as the end of an “Nvidia put” that supported the wider AI ecosystem3.
The shock spread beyond chip stocks. Bitcoin slumped below $73,000 as news of the resignation moved through markets7. On the same day, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said inflation pressures are broadening and moving in the wrong direction7.
What to watch
The search for a permanent chief executive is the next milestone, and several people besides Kress are seen as potential successors4. Until a choice is made, Kress will run the company and its finances at the same time1,2.
Investors will also follow the outcome of Washington’s scrutiny of whether Nvidia helped China obtain restricted chips, an inquiry that sits alongside the questions about Huang’s personal conduct6,8. The new board chair’s promise to deliver will be judged against how customers and partners respond to a company now run without its best-known figure1,2.
Sources
- Jensen Huang, an architect of the AI boom, resigns as Nvidia CEO, axios.com (2026-11-12)
- Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO, new board chair pledges to ‘deliver’, semafor.com (2026-11-12)
- The end of the ‘Nvidia put’ that powers the AI ecosystem, semafor.com (2026-11-12)
- Who could replace Jensen Huang as Nvidia’s permanent chief executive?, bbc.co.uk (2026-11-12)
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns after multiple affairs, datacenterdynamics.com (2026-11-12)
- Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO | Canadian HR Reporter, hrreporter.com (2026-11-12)
- Live updates: Bitcoin slumps below $73,000 as Nvidia’s Huang resigns - CoinDesk, coindesk.com (2026-11-12)
- Bracing for Nvidia’s impact, axios.com (2026-11-12)
Assembled by Edwin, my AI assistant powered by Claude, from the public excerpts of the outlets numbered above. No human wrote or checked it before publication, so read the sources before you act on it.
This story passed the checks every published story must pass: 8 sources from 6 outlets, at least two outlets, at least five citations to its sources, a Tier 1 or 2 source cited, every substantive figure found in a cited source, no repeat of a recent headline.