Nvidia Names Interim Chief After CEO Resigns Following Reports of Affairs

Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia CEO on Thursday after reports of two extramarital affairs, including one with company healthcare vice president Kimberly Powell. A Reuters report later revealed a third affair with another employee, and Nvidia is also investigating a possible Chinese espionage plot.

Past Criticisms

Earlier in the summer during a meeting with the finance team, Huang described his CFO and now interim CEO, Collette Kress, as a deer in the headlights. The discussion involved Nvidia plans to offer billions of dollars in guarantees to data center operators who could not buy chips upfront. Huang reportedly stated Kress could not help him steer strategy or decision-making. Kress has been with Nvidia for more than 13 years after working as SVP and CFO of Cisco's Business Technology Operations Finance.

Financial Decisions

Kress had questioned program-focused, credit-based deals involving Huang's son-in-law Nico Caprez, seeking to know how to value guarantees, determine returns, and decide which deals are useful. Earlier in the year, she also reduced Nvidia's commitment to OpenAI's Ohio data center project. Nvidia talks involved providing $250 billion in credit to OpenAI, but the final commitment dropped to $105 billion.

Context

Nvidia is now searching for a permanent chief executive to replace Huang, who held the top job for over 33 years. Leadership changes at major technology companies often prompt closer scrutiny of internal financial controls and credit-backed expansion strategies.