The Nvidia Board of Directors announced on Thursday that Jensen Huang has resigned as president, CEO, and board member, effective immediately.
This marks a sudden change for the chipmaker that built the hardware behind the current AI boom. Huang, who founded the company 33 years ago, had no succession plan in place. His departure follows reports that he had relationships with an alleged Chinese spy and a direct report within Nvidia.
Nvidia CFO and Executive Vice President Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement. She will now lead a company valued at approximately $3.8 trillion.
Who is Colette Kress
Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013. Before that role, she spent three years as Senior Vice President and CFO of Cisco’s Business Technology Operations Finance organization. She also worked at Microsoft for 13 years, serving 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.
The 59-year-old lives in California. Her social media footprint is minimal, consisting mainly of LinkedIn comments wishing colleagues well on retirement. As CFO, she has been a regular speaker on Nvidia’s earnings calls, making her a familiar face to analysts.
Forbes estimates her net worth at about $1.2 billion. She initially joined Nvidia because her two sons endorsed the company for its work in the video game industry, a sector where Nvidia was best known at the time.
“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 in a statement. “We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”
Nvidia is due to report quarterly earnings on Tuesday. Kress will likely address the company’s immediate future during that briefing.
