Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO after 33 years; CFO Colette Kress named interim chief

Jensen Huang has resigned as Nvidia's president, CEO and board member, effective immediately, the company's board said Nov 12. CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while the board weighs internal and external candidates for a permanent successor, ending Huang's 33-year run at the company he co-founded in 1993. The board also named former Synopsys CEO Harvey Jones as its first-ever chair.

Nvidia shares fell more than 10% in premarket trading, according to Reuters. Huang told staff on Nov 8 that he had an affair with a woman US authorities reportedly suspect of spying for China, and the board met Wednesday to discuss his ouster after reports that he had also had a relationship with a senior executive who reported to him. "We expect the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption," Jones said. "The risk is execution. Jensen has been the chief conductor of an extraordinarily complex system," Michael Feldman of ClearBridge Investments told Reuters, which noted the exit could also ripple into US chip export policy given Huang's push to keep access to China. Nvidia still plans to report third-quarter results on Nov 17.