Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO; finance chief Colette Kress steps in while the board searches

For 33 years, Nvidia had only one chief executive. On 11 November, Jensen Huang resigned as president, CEO and member of the board, effective immediately, according to Nvidia’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company announced it the next day.

The new CEO of Nvidia, for now, is Colette Kress, the finance chief who has run the company’s money since 2013. She keeps that job too. Nvidia’s chips sit inside many of the world’s AI data centres, so who leads it matters to cloud companies, start-ups and shareholders far beyond California.

A finance chief takes charge, and the board gets its first chair

Nvidia’s release sets out three changes. Huang has gone. Kress is interim CEO and stays executive vice president and chief financial officer until a permanent successor is named. And Harvey C. Jones becomes the board’s first-ever chair.

Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013. Before that, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft. Jones has worked as an entrepreneur, executive and venture investor for more than 30 years, and was chief executive and executive chairman of Synopsys, a chip-design software company.

Jones said the board has full confidence in Kress and the leadership team. He expects day-to-day work, promises to customers and product plans to carry on without a break. Kress said she would build on what Huang created over 33 years.

Nvidia’s announcement in full, as published on Nvidia’s newsroom on 12 November. Image: Nvidia

Nvidia gave no reason for its CEO’s decision to step down, and the release names no continuing role for Huang. The board thanked him for his “immeasurable contributions” to the company and the industry. The change follows the board’s independent investigation and reports this week that the board was preparing to replace Huang.

Who will be the next CEO of Nvidia has no date yet

The board says it will consider internal and external candidates. It gave no timeline. Until then, Kress does two demanding jobs at once.

Markets reacted fast. Nvidia shares fell as much as 13% at Thursday’s open before recovering part of the drop, CNBC reported. Its market value slipped below US$4 trillion, CNBC added. Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon cut his rating to Market-Perform and his price target from US$400 to US$200, Yahoo Finance reported. KeyBanc’s John Vinh called Kress’s appointment constructive, the same report said.

Kress and Jones wrote to employees, CNBC and Yahoo Finance reported, and CNBC said Kress gathered senior leaders at the Santa Clara headquarters. House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Brian Mast said Huang has agreed to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving, on a day still being negotiated, according to CNBC and Yahoo Finance. President Donald Trump posted that Apple’s Tim Cook should take the job, both outlets reported; that is a comment, not a plan, and the choice belongs to Nvidia’s board.

For shareholders and customers, 17 November is the first test

The Nvidia earnings date has not moved. Third-quarter results arrive on Tuesday 17 November at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific time (21:20 UTC), with the call at 2 p.m. (22:00 UTC). It will be the first results under an interim chief. Huang still owns about 3.6% of the company, Decrypt reported, citing the Wall Street Journal.

For customers, from cloud giants to small AI start-ups, nothing announced changes products, prices or deliveries. In practice, chip roadmaps are planned years ahead, so the next products are likely already set. What to watch is whether the call repeats the board’s promise of no interruption, and whether supply plans hold.

Why steady hands matter more than a famous name right now

There is real strength in how the board acted. It filed the change officially, named an interim leader who knows the finances and the customers, and split the chair role from management. It also credited Huang’s 33-year record, which turned a graphics-chip maker into a supplier the AI industry depends on.

The weaker side is just as plain. Shareholders first learned a change was coming from unnamed sources in news reports. Nvidia gives no reason for an exit this large. And a search with no timeline leaves one person carrying two of the company’s biggest jobs.

On balance, this looks like a board choosing stability first: keep the business steady, explain little for now, and find the right permanent leader.

The next answers come from Nvidia, not the headlines

Watch the 17 November call, the date of Huang’s testimony, and any name for a permanent chief. Until then, the answer to “Did the Nvidia CEO resign?” is yes, and the new CEO of Nvidia, for now, is Colette Kress.