--- title: Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia's Chief Executive, and Finance Chief Colette Kress Takes Over description: Jensen Huang has resigned as Nvidia's CEO and left its board, effective immediately. Finance chief Colette Kress is interim CEO; Harvey Jones is chair. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-11-12T14:26:30.375Z updated: 2026-11-12T14:26:30.393Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/jensen-huang-resigns-nvidia image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/nvidia-shareholder-vote-jensen-huang.webp categories: Artificial Intelligence content_type: News region: United States publication: Sovereign Magazine about: - type: Person name: Jensen Huang description: Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia, the chipmaker based in Santa Clara, California, in 1993 and was its chief executive until he resigned in November 2026. - type: Organization name: Nvidia description: Nvidia is a US technology company that designs the graphics processors and AI chips used in data centers, gaming and cloud computing. --- Jensen Huang has resigned as Nvidia's president and chief executive and has left its board, effective immediately, the company said on Thursday, 33 years after he co-founded it. Colette Kress, Nvidia's finance chief, is interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent successor. The board also named Harvey C. Jones, a director since 1993 and a former chief executive of the chip design software company Synopsys, as its first chair. Nvidia gave no reason for Huang's resignation, and its announcement carried no statement from him. Nvidia shares were 11.2% lower at $154.29 in pre-market trading after the announcement, against Wednesday's close of $173.73. Huang's departure comes four days after he told staff in a memo that he had been unfaithful to his wife and the board [opened an inquiry](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/nvidia-jensen-huang-investigation) into reports that a foreign intelligence service had targeted him. On Wednesday the Wall Street Journal reported that [the board was preparing to remove him](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/nvidia-board-jensen-huang-remove). Minutes earlier, the New York Times had said he had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reported to him. Huang's memo named no one. Earlier reports had named Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive, after the New York Times and the Financial Times said a classified US memo described a relationship between her and Huang. Powell is the second woman named, and it is not known whether she is the one his memo referred to or this was a second affair. Overnight, some investors had called for shareholders to have a say before the board decided. Gavin Baker of Atreides Management wrote on X that the board could "have a shareholder vote after the investigation is complete", and The Kobeissi Letter, a markets newsletter, asked the board to call a special shareholder meeting. Huang resigned before any meeting was called. Under Nvidia's bylaws, the board could have removed him as chief executive without a vote. ## Kress Has Been Nvidia's Finance Chief Since 2013 and Will Keep That Role Kress joined Nvidia as executive vice president and chief financial officer in September 2013, after nearly 25 years in finance at technology companies including Cisco and Microsoft. She will stay in both jobs while she is interim chief executive, and the board will consider candidates from inside and outside the company. > "I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years." > — Colette Kress, interim chief executive and chief financial officer, Nvidia "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," Jones said in the announcement. Kress said Nvidia's focus "remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders." Until Thursday Nvidia's board had no chair, and Huang was the only one of its 11 directors who was not independent. With Huang gone, it has 10 members. ## Huang Leaves the Company He Co-Founded in 1993, Valued at About $4.2 Trillion on Wednesday Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and had been its chief executive since. At Wednesday's close the company was valued at about $4.2 trillion. "Jensen's contributions to NVIDIA are profound," the board said in its announcement, thanking him for "his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry." He remains one of Nvidia's largest shareholders. His stake was 3.58% in March, counting his foundation's shares, according to the proxy statement, which listed only BlackRock (7.43%) and Vanguard (7.31%) as larger holders. ## Nvidia Will Still Report Results on 17 November Nvidia said it will report results for its third quarter on Tuesday, 17 November, at about 1:20pm Pacific time, as planned, with its call for analysts at 2pm Pacific time. They will be its first results since Huang's memo to staff. The announcement did not say whether the board's investigation, run by Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, will continue. The Republican chairs of three House committees had asked Huang to attend a closed briefing on 18 November, and Brian Mast, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, [said on Tuesday](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/lutnick-memo-megaspeed-entity-list) that he would "absolutely" subpoena Huang if he did not respond. No reply from Huang has been made public. ## FAQ **Q: Will Jensen Huang ever retire?** Huang resigned as Nvidia's president and chief executive, and as a director, on 12 November 2026, effective immediately, 33 years after he co-founded the company. Nvidia gave no reason, and its announcement carried no statement from him. He had told staff four days earlier that he had been unfaithful to his wife, and the board had begun looking into reports that a foreign intelligence service had targeted him. Colette Kress, the finance chief, is interim chief executive while the board looks for a permanent successor. **Q: Who is the biggest shareholder of Nvidia?** According to Nvidia's proxy statement, its largest shareholders in March 2026 were BlackRock, which held 7.43%, and Vanguard, which held 7.31%. Huang's own 3.58%, a figure that counts his foundation's shares, made him the next largest, and he keeps those shares after resigning. Each Nvidia share carries one vote. **Q: Who is on the Nvidia board of directors?** After Huang's resignation, Nvidia's board has 10 members: Harvey C. Jones, its first chair, along with Tench Coxe, John Dabiri, Dawn Hudson, Melissa Lora, Stephen Neal, Suzanne Nora Johnson, Brooke Seawell, Aarti Shah and Mark Stevens. Jones has been a director since 1993 and was chief executive of Synopsys.