The key facts

  • Jensen Huang left the positions of president, CEO and board member of Nvidia with immediate effect
  • Finance chief Colette Kress was appointed interim CEO while retaining her previous duties
  • Harvey Jones became the first chairman of the board in the company's history; the search for a permanent head will include internal and external candidates

Sudden resignation of the founder

Nvidia announced that company co-founder Jensen Huang has stepped down from the positions of president, chief executive officer and board member, with the resignation taking effect immediately. The company did not state the reasons for the decision or name a permanent successor in the announcement.

Leadership address to employees

Interim CEO Colette Kress and board chairman Harvey Jones, in letters to employees published by The Verge, sought to reassure the workforce and assure them of continuity. Kress acknowledged that the company is going through an 'extremely difficult period,' thanked employees for their resilience and professionalism, and reminded them that Nvidia plays an important role in creating the technologies on which the artificial intelligence revolution rests. She promised that leadership would share more details in the coming days and announced an all-company meeting on November 18 at 9 a.m. Pacific time.

Transitional structure and search for a permanent CEO

Jones said the board of directors will consider both internal and external candidates for the position of permanent head of the company. He called Kress, who has led Nvidia's finance function since 2013, one of the key architects of the company's growth and capital strategy, and stated that the board has 'full confidence' in her ability to fulfill commitments to shareholders, customers and partners. Jones also noted Huang's contributions to the development of accelerated computing, graphics processors and artificial intelligence.

What is known and what is not yet known

At this point, the company has not disclosed the motives behind Huang's resignation and has not set a timeline for the search for a permanent CEO. Only the transitional distribution of roles is known: Kress combines the position of interim CEO with her duties as finance chief, while Jones has taken over the board on a chairman position newly created for Nvidia. Further clarification from leadership is expected, including at the November 18 meeting.