SANTA CLARA, California- Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of Nvidia’s board, ending his 33-year leadership of the chipmaker he co-founded.
Nvidia announced that Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO as the board begins a search for a permanent successor.
Kress will retain her role as executive vice president and CFO while leading the company, with Nvidia saying its search will consider both internal and external candidates.
The board also appointed long-serving director Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair.
Sudden leadership transition
The leadership shake-up followed a Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia’s board was considering Huang’s exit, but the company’s official announcement did not give a reason for his resignation.
Huang’s departure comes days after Nvidia said its board had launched an independent investigation following reports that its founder had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
In its November 8 statement, the board said it had no reason to believe national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised, while adding that an independent committee would examine all available information.
Huang had pledged to cooperate with the review.
The resignation now leaves Kress with the immediate task of steering one of the world’s most influential technology companies through a leadership transition at the centre of the global artificial intelligence boom.
Kress takes interim role
Kress has been Nvidia’s CFO since September 2013 and has played a central role in managing the company’s finances during its rise from a graphics-chip specialist into a global leader in artificial intelligence and accelerated computing.
Before joining Nvidia, she held senior finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft.
Jones, who joined Nvidia’s board in 1993, the year the company was founded, will serve as board chair.
The company said he brings more than three decades of experience as a technology executive, entrepreneur and venture investor, including previous leadership roles at Synopsys.
Nvidia said Kress has the full support of the board and the company’s senior leadership team, adding that customer commitments, operations and its technology roadmap are expected to continue without interruption.
Investors react to departure
Nvidia shares fell sharply following the news, reflecting investor concerns over the departure of a founder who has become closely identified with the company’s products, strategy and brand.
The stock was trading at $164.99, down 5.03 per cent from the previous close, after falling as low as $148.83 during the session.
The decline came despite Nvidia’s continued central role in supplying chips used by major technology firms,
