Jensen Huang Resigns as NVIDIA CEO, Colette Kress Named Interim Chief

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By K.T. Shiri · Breaking news · 12 November 2026

A gloved technician holds a silicon wafer in a semiconductor cleanroom.

Jensen Huang has resigned as NVIDIA’s president, chief executive and a member of its board, effective immediately. The chipmaker named finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO on Thursday while it searches for a permanent successor. Kress will keep her positions as executive vice president and chief financial officer during the search. NVIDIA’s transition announcement.

The departure ends Huang’s 33 years leading the company he co-founded in 1993. NVIDIA also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first board chair. The board says it will consider both internal and external candidates for the permanent CEO role. NVIDIA’s biography of Huang · The Guardian’s live reporting.

Who is taking over at NVIDIA?

Kress has led NVIDIA’s finance organisation since joining in September 2013. She previously held senior finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft. Jones, a former chief executive of Synopsys, will chair the board as Kress runs the company and retains responsibility for finance. NVIDIA said it expects its operations, customer commitments and product plans to continue through the transition. That is the board’s assessment. The next set of results will give investors a chance to test it against management’s outlook. Colette Kress’s company biography · Board appointments and statement.

The board inquiry

On 8 November, NVIDIA said it would investigate reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The board said at the time that it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised. In a message to employees released that day, Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and said he would cooperate with the inquiry. Independent directors named Joon H. Kim and his law firm as outside counsel on 10 November. The 12 November transition announcement did not disclose the inquiry’s findings. 8 November board statement · Huang’s message to employees · 10 November statement from independent directors.

NVIDIA shares fell in U.S. premarket trading

At 16:02 CAT (09:02 EST) on 12 November, Stock Analysis quoted NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) at US$155.42 in premarket trading, down 10.54% from Wednesday’s regular-session close of US$173.73. Business Insider also reported a drop of about 10% in premarket trading shortly after the announcement. The shares had already fallen in Wednesday’s after-hours session when reports emerged that directors were considering Huang’s future. Stock Analysis price data · Business Insider on the transition and premarket move · This morning’s Shiri Financials AI briefing.

What to watch at the 17 November results

The first test is whether NVIDIA confirms the timing of chip deliveries and the financial commitments it has made to customers and partners. Those commitments matter to data-centre operators that build capacity before they can collect revenue. The second is how the board will oversee those decisions during the search. For an African business buying computing capacity through a cloud provider or reseller, the immediate question is whether its own provider can honour the delivery date and price in the contract. Five questions to ask about an infrastructure deal.

NVIDIA says it will release its fiscal third-quarter results as scheduled on 17 November, at about 23:20 CAT. The earnings call follows at midnight CAT as 18 November begins (14:00 Pacific time on 17 November). NVIDIA’s confirmed reporting timetable.

From the author. I wrote Africa Wants Deals, Not Lectures about how African countries assess infrastructure and trade offers. If you want to read more about who finances projects and who carries their risks, find it in my K.T. Shiri book collection.

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