Nvidia Shake-Up: Jensen Huang Exits After 33 Years, Colette Kress Takes Interim Reins

Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive officer and board member of Nvidia with immediate effect, ending a 33-year run at the helm of the company he co-founded. The board accepted the resignation and appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim CEO while it hunts for a permanent successor, considering both internal and external candidates.

• Abrupt leadership change: Huang stepped down after 33 years, and the board confirmed the move on Thursday, with regulatory filings showing the resignation was accepted the previous day.
• Interim leadership: Kress, Nvidia’s CFO since September 2013, will hold both roles during the transition. The board also named Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair.
• Market shock: Nvidia shares fell sharply on the news, with the stock down more than 10% in pre-market trading and roughly 14% at the opening bell.

A sudden exit after three decades

Huang’s departure marks one of the most abrupt executive transitions the technology sector has seen. The company thanked him for his “immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry” but did not offer a formal reason for the resignation in its own statement.

The exit follows a turbulent week. Nvidia’s board had said it was investigating whether Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort amid reports of his relationship with a woman U.S. officials believed to be a Chinese spy. Huang later admitted in an internal message to staff that he had been “unfaithful to his wife,” apologizing to his family and colleagues without naming the other party. The New York Times subsequently reported that Huang also had an extramarital relationship with an Nvidia executive who reports to him. Those reports have not been independently verified.

“My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry,” Huang wrote in the internal message. “My responsibility is to serve you and be worthy of your trust. I have fallen short of that responsibility.”

The board initially expressed confidence in Huang and said it had “no reason to believe” that national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised. It convened Wednesday night to weigh his future after the additional reporting, and Huang resigned the following day.

Who is Colette Kress?

Kress is a familiar face to investors, having served as Nvidia’s chief financial officer since September 2013 and appearing regularly at earnings presentations. Before joining Nvidia, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at major technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft.

“NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” Kress said. “Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”

Jones, the newly appointed board chair, said Kress has a deep understanding of the business, customers, operations and financial position, adding that the board expects “the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.” Jones has been an entrepreneur, technology executive and venture investor for more than 30 years, including serving as CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys.

Kress inherits leadership of a company at the center of the AI buildout, whose chips underpin infrastructure across the industry. Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17, giving Kress an early platform to address investors and outline priorities.

What the transition means for the AI sector

The shake-up exposes a structural vulnerability: Nvidia became one of the world’s most valuable companies largely on the strength of a single figure who embodied its strategy and its public identity. There was no announced succession plan, and the board is now searching for a permanent CEO under intense scrutiny.

The stock reaction reflects that uncertainty. Nvidia shares tumbled at the open, and the episode has rippled through markets and even China’s underground trade in advanced Nvidia chips, where traders reportedly paused activity amid the turmoil. The company’s long-term position in AI infrastructure remains formidable, but the coming weeks will test whether its operations and customer commitments can proceed without disruption while leadership stabilizes.

The broader lesson for the technology industry is that concentration of influence carries risk. Nvidia’s board has moved quickly to install an experienced interim leader and a chair with deep operational experience, but the search for a permanent successor will define how the company navigates its most consequential transition in decades.