Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia CEO After 33 Years; Colette Kress Named Interim CEO

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov 12 — Jensen Huang resigned as president, chief executive and board member of Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA), effective immediately, the company announced on Thursday morning. The exit ends the 33-year run of the co-founder who built the chipmaker into the defining company of the AI era, and it came with no stated reason: the announcement does not say why Huang is leaving and does not mention the independent investigation the board opened four days ago.

The transition#

Colette Kress, Nvidia's executive vice president and chief financial officer since September 2013, has agreed to serve as interim chief executive. She will keep the CFO job while serving as interim CEO until a permanent successor is named, and the board said it is starting a search that will consider internal and external candidates.

The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones, a director and the former chief executive of Synopsys, as its first-ever chair. "Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position," Jones said in the announcement. "The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption."

Kress, in her first statement as interim chief executive, said she is "committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years," adding: "Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders." The board thanked Huang for his "immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry." Huang holds about 3.61% of Nvidia's shares and was its fourth-largest shareholder, according to Reuters.

No reason given#

The announcement contains no statement from Huang and no findings from the investigation the board opened on Sunday, November 8, after reports that he had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. On Tuesday the independent directors put the inquiry in the hands of former acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Its status after Thursday's announcement is not addressed.

The board met late into Wednesday night to decide whether to remove Huang, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, hours after the New York Times reported a second extramarital relationship, with Kimberly Powell, the vice president of healthcare who reports to him. The Wall Street Journal, which reported on Wednesday that the board was preparing to oust him, headlined Thursday's outcome "Jensen Huang Has Been Ousted as Nvidia CEO." Nvidia's own word for the departure is "resigned."

One thread remains open in Washington. Three House committee chairs had asked Huang to respond by Wednesday, November 11, and to give a closed-door briefing on November 18 about the reported foreign-intelligence approach. No public response came, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast was preparing a subpoena, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday, and Thursday's announcement does not address the request.

The market reaction#

Nvidia shares fell more than 10% in pre-market trade, Reuters reported, weighing on the broader market. The stock opened at $151.01, traded as low as $148.80 in the first minutes, and by 10:14 a.m. ET had recovered to $161.47, down 7.1% from the Wednesday close of $173.73, according to Finnhub data. The move caps a brutal week: the shares are down about 19% over five sessions, and Wednesday's after-hours slide alone erased about $350 billion of market value. Nvidia's market capitalization stands at about $4.07 trillion.

What happens next#

The first test of the new leadership arrives in five days. Nvidia confirmed it will report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17, at about 1:20 p.m. PT, with the earnings call at 2 p.m. PT, as previously scheduled — a call Kress has led for years as CFO, now as the executive in charge. Beyond earnings, three questions are unanswered: who the permanent chief executive will be, what the board's investigation concludes, and whether Huang answers Congress.

Sources#

• NVIDIA Newsroom, "NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition," November 12, 2026.
• Reuters, "Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to step down in big blow to AI boom," November 12, 2026; and "Nvidia board to decide fate of CEO Jensen Huang," November 11–12, 2026.
• The Wall Street Journal, "Jensen Huang Has Been Ousted as Nvidia CEO," November 12, 2026.
• TechCrunch, reporting on the House subpoena preparation, November 11, 2026.
• Market data: Finnhub (Nvidia session prices to 10:14 a.m. ET, November 12, 2026).