Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO and board member, and CFO Colette Kress steps in as interim chief executive

What happened

Nvidia's Board of Directors announced Thursday morning that Jensen Huang, the company's co-founder and CEO of 33 years, has resigned as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately, TechCrunch reported. Nvidia designs the chips behind the AI boom and is one of the most valuable companies in the world.

According to TechCrunch, Huang's exit followed reports that he had affairs with an alleged Chinese spy and with one of his direct reports at Nvidia. Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Colette Kress has become interim CEO while the company runs a fuller search for a permanent successor. Earlier coverage of the board's deliberations is in our report on how the Nvidia board reportedly weighed ousting Huang.

How the scandal unfolded

The board's investigation

Wired reported that Nvidia's board said on Sunday it was opening an independent investigation into Huang's activities. The move came after The New York Times reported that he had an affair with a woman whom US officials suspected of being a Chinese intelligence asset.

Crisis communications and export controls

Wired reported on Monday that Huang quietly hired a crisis communications firm sometime last year to handle matters tied to his personal life. By October 2025, that firm was being looped in on all press inquiries involving Huang at Nvidia, according to Wired. That was around the same time The New York Times reported that US authorities were investigating whether a company linked to the woman had helped Chinese firms get around US chip export controls through its subsidiaries.

Who is Colette Kress

Career and background

TechCrunch, citing Nvidia's website, reported that Kress has worked at the company since September 2013. Before that, she spent three years as an SVP and CFO of Cisco's Business Technology Operations Finance organization and 13 years at Microsoft, including four years as CFO of the Server and Tools division. She holds a finance degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

Wired, citing the Israeli business newspaper Globes, reported that Huang personally recruited Kress in 2013, when Nvidia was still best known for gaming graphics cards. TechCrunch described her as a California-based 59-year-old with a very limited social media presence. Forbes estimates her net worth at about $1.2 billion, according to TechCrunch.

Why analysts saw her as the pick

Tech executives and analysts told Wired that Kress was among the most obvious candidates because of her long tenure, her credibility on Wall Street and her deep knowledge of Nvidia's finances. "She has credibility with investors because she answers hard questions directly," Patrick Moorhead, founder and chief analyst at Moor Insights & Strategies, told Wired.

Wired reported that Nvidia has no traditional chief operating officer and that dozens of executives reported directly to Huang, so few people share Kress's level of understanding of the company's finances. A former Nvidia executive told Wired she could step into the role right away but does not bring the same engineering and technical expertise Huang did. Other potential successors Wired named included Ian Buck, who created the CUDA software platform, and Jeff Fisher, who led the GeForce unit.

What the company and Kress said

Harvey Jones, the newly appointed chair of Nvidia's board, said in a statement reported by Wired that the board has "full confidence" in Kress and that she will be supported by an "experienced leadership team." TechCrunch noted that Huang had been so central to Nvidia that he never set up a succession plan.

In her own statement, reported by TechCrunch, Kress said she is "committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years." She said the company's focus remains on its customers, partners, developers and shareholders. More coverage of the industry is on our AI and tech page.

What to watch next

• Nvidia is slated to report quarterly earnings on Tuesday, when TechCrunch said Kress will likely share more about her near-term plans.
• The board's independent investigation into Huang's activities, announced Sunday, according to Wired.
• Nvidia's search for a permanent successor to Huang, which TechCrunch said is under way.
• The US investigation reported by The New York Times into whether a linked company helped Chinese firms evade chip export controls.