Jensen Huang Resignation Live Updates: For 33 years, one name has been tied to Nvidia more closely than any other. That changed on Thursday as the company's Board of Directors announced that Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, effective immediately.
Pressure has been mounting on Huang after reports said the 63-year-old, who is married, admitted that he had an affair with a Chinese businesswoman who US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing.
Colette Kress, Nvidia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer. She will keep her role as Chief Financial Officer while she leads the company, and she will stay in both posts until a permanent successor has been named.
The Board has started a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer. It said it will consider both internal and external candidates, which leaves the door open to someone from inside the company or from outside it.
Huang is a co-founder of Nvidia, which was founded in 1993, and has led the company for 33 years. The company's announcement did not give a reason for his resignation. Media reports said the move followed several days of speculation about his future and came amid press reports about allegations concerning his personal conduct. Those allegations have not been proven.
The company has also named Harvey C. Jones as the first-ever chair of its Board, and it has said it will report its third-quarter results on November 17.
Follow The Live Updates On Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's Resignation:
Jensen Huang Resignation Live Updates: Nvidia Market Value Down $888 Billion This Week
Nvidia has lost more than $575 billion in market value at the open, as investors react to Jensen Huang’s departure. Shares fell over 13 per cent in early trading to $149.79, from $173.73 at Wednesday’s close. They had finished last week at $186.64.
By that measure, the chipmaker has shed about $888 billion this week. It was worth $4.5 trillion at Friday’s close and is now valued at roughly $3.61 trillion.
Jensen Huang Resignation Live Updates: Jensen Huang Founded Nvidia In 1993
Jensen Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 together with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, “with a vision to bring 3D graphics to the gaming and multimedia markets”. Huang is the company’s fourth-largest investor, with a stake of about 3.61 per cent. He will not remain on the board.
Jensen Huang Resignation Live Updates: Who is Colette Kress? Nvidia’s interim CEO
Nvidia has turned to its finance chief, Colette Kress, to lead the company while it looks for a permanent successor to Jensen Huang.
Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. She has held that post ever since, through the years in which the company moved to the centre of the artificial intelligence boom.
Her career before Nvidia was spent in finance at some of the biggest names in technology. She worked for eight years at Texas Instruments, then for more than ten years at Microsoft, where she became chief financial officer of its Server and Tools division in 2006. In 2010, she moved to Cisco, where she handled financial strategy and business development for its Business Technology and Operations Finance organisation.
Jensen Huang Resignation Live Updates: Read Nvidia's Full Statement
