On Sunday, Nvidia’s board said it had confidence in Jensen Huang. By Thursday, he was gone. Jensen Huang resigns as President, Chief Executive Officer and board member of the company he led for 33 years, effective immediately.
The announcement of Jensen Huang resigns came four days after the board opened an independent investigation into reports that he had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
Nvidia’s statement does not give a reason for his departure, and it does not mention the investigation.
Jensen Huang Resigns: What Nvidia Announced
In a release dated November 12, Nvidia’s board announced three changes at once:
- Jensen Huang has resigned from all three of his roles.
- Colette Kress, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has agreed to serve as interim CEO.
- Harvey C. Jones has been appointed the board’s first-ever chair.
Kress will keep her CFO role while leading the company until a permanent successor is named. The board says it has started a CEO search and will consider both internal and external candidates.
Who Is Running Nvidia Now?
Kress joined Nvidia as CFO in September 2013 and has led its finance organisation since then. Before Nvidia, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at technology companies including Cisco and Microsoft.
In a statement, she said she was committed to “building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” and that the company’s focus remains on customers, partners, developers and shareholders.
Jones has spent more than 30 years as an entrepreneur, technology executive and venture investor, including serving as CEO and Executive Chairman of Synopsys. Speaking as the new board chair, he said Kress “has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” and that the board expects operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap “to continue without interruption.”
Why the First-Ever Board Chair Matters
The creation of a chair role is one of the more telling parts of the announcement. Until now, Nvidia’s board had no chair. According to the company’s May 2026 proxy statement, Huang was the only non-independent director on the board at the time.
His exit removes the founder from both management and the board on the same day, and places board leadership in the hands of a newly named chair.
How This Connects to the Nvidia Board Investigation
The Nvidia board investigation was announced on November 8, after The New York Times reported on Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed whom US intelligence officials suspected of gathering information for China. Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over two years, according to the Times.
At the time, the board said it had “no reason to believe” national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised and that it had confidence in Huang. Huang admitted to an extramarital affair in an email to staff and said he would cooperate fully.
Thursday’s release does not say whether the investigation has concluded, what it found, or whether it played a part in the resignation.
Did the Board Have to Vote Him Out?
No. Nvidia’s bylaws allow the board to remove a CEO “with or without cause” by a majority vote of directors, while removing someone from the board requires a shareholder vote. Because Huang resigned from both positions, the board did not need to use either power.
What Questions Remain
Several key points are still open:
- The investigation: Nvidia has not said whether it will share the findings or whether it is still under way.
- Capitol Hill: Three Republican congressional committee chairmen had requested a closed-door briefing from Huang on November 18 about the allegations and Nvidia’s safeguards against espionage. It is not clear whether that briefing will still go ahead, or with whom.
- The permanent CEO: No timeline has been given for the search.
What Happens Next
The first big test for the new leadership is only days away. Nvidia will report its third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17, at about 1:20 p.m. PT as previously scheduled, followed by its earnings call at 2 p.m. PT. It will be the company’s first earnings call without Huang as CEO.
Outside the US, there were already signs that partners were watching closely. Earlier this week, South Korea’s deputy science minister said contracted Nvidia GPU deliveries were expected to proceed without disruption, and that his ministry was monitoring developments.
In its release, the board thanked Huang for what it called “immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”
