Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has run it ever since, resigned as the company’s CEO on 12 November 2026, effective immediately. Nvidia’s chief financial officer, Colette Kress, will run the company as interim CEO while the board looks for a permanent replacement.
The short version
- Huang stepped down as Nvidia’s president, CEO and board member, effective immediately, according to Nvidia’s announcement.
- CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO and keeps her finance job until a permanent CEO is named. The board says it will look at internal and outside candidates.
- Harvey C. Jones, a Nvidia board member and former CEO of chip design software maker Synopsys, becomes the company’s first board chair.
- Nvidia still plans to report its quarterly results on 17 November.
Why he left
Nvidia’s announcement does not give a reason. It came after two days of reports about two relationships Huang had. On 11 November, The Information reported that he had an affair with a woman U.S. reports link to a network accused of moving Nvidia chips to China. China denies she is a spy, and the claims against her have not been proven. That evening, The New York Times reported a second affair, with a senior Nvidia employee who reported to him. Neither Huang nor Nvidia has confirmed that report. The Wall Street Journal then reported that the board was meeting to decide whether to remove him.
In a memo to employees reported by several outlets, Huang admitted to the first affair and said he was “deeply sorry.”
The board said it has “full confidence in Colette and the leadership team.” Kress joined Nvidia in 2013 after nearly 25 years in finance jobs at Cisco and Microsoft.
What changes for you: if you use Nvidia products, such as a GeForce graphics card, its drivers or the GeForce Now game streaming service, Nvidia has not announced any change to them. If you own Nvidia shares, directly or through an index fund that holds big US tech companies, expect a bumpy few days. Nvidia’s shares fell sharply before the market opened on 12 November. TechCity is not a financial adviser.
What happens next
The next date to watch is Tuesday, 17 November. Nvidia reports its results for the August to October quarter at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific time, with a call for investors at 2 p.m. It will be Kress’s first time on that call as interim CEO.
What we don’t know yet
- Whether Huang chose to leave or the board asked him to go.
- Who the permanent CEO will be, and how long the search will take.
- Whether any government inquiry into the China report goes further, and what it could mean for Nvidia’s chip sales.
We’ll update this story as Nvidia says more.
