Nvidia Board Accepts Huang Resignation After Affairs, Reported Spy Allegations; CFO Kress Named Interim CEO

Nvidia's board of directors accepted founder and CEO Jensen Huang's resignation late Wednesday, with the announcement coming Thursday morning, ending his 33-year run at the helm of the world's dominant AI chipmaker. The move followed Huang's admission of an extramarital affair and a subsequent New York Times report of a second affair with a direct report. The Times also reported, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the woman in the first affair was believed to be a Chinese intelligence operative. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was appointed interim CEO effective immediately, and the board named Harvey Jones as its first-ever chair [2][7].

Scandal timeline

On October 29, the New York Times reported that Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang (no relation), a Chinese citizen who heads the Singapore-based datacenter firm Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer. Citing unidentified sources, the Times said U.S. intelligence officials believed she had been recruited by China's top spy agency to target Huang and potentially influence policy [1][2]. NPR has not independently confirmed the spying allegations [1]. China's foreign ministry called the claims baseless and part of a smear campaign [1].

On Sunday, Huang emailed Nvidia staff admitting he had been unfaithful to his wife, Lori, without naming Alice Huang directly. The board announced it had retained Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct a "thorough and independent" investigation into the relationship with Alice Huang. Nvidia also announced a separate investigation into whether Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort [1][2]. At the time, the board said it had "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised" [3].

On Wednesday, the Times reported a second extramarital affair, this one with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reported to Huang. The paper said the pair were reportedly captured on video being affectionate at a hotel during a company conference in March [2]. Powell could not be reached for comment [3].

The board met late Wednesday to discuss Huang's future. His resignation as chief executive, president, and board member was announced effective immediately Thursday [2]. The board's statement did not mention the allegations, praising Huang's "profound" contributions instead [2][7].

Market reaction and succession vacuum

Nvidia shares fell 13% at the open before paring losses to around 7% down, wiping more than $320 billion off the company's market value on the day and over $600 billion for the week, leaving it valued at roughly $3.9 trillion [2].

The departure exposes a long-standing governance gap. Huang ran Nvidia with an unusual, highly centralized structure — about 60 direct reports, no chief operating officer, and no board chair until now. He had not articulated a public succession plan. In a mid-October Bloomberg interview, Huang said he hoped the next CEO was already at the company but added, "20 years from now, I hope I stay healthy and I hope I continue to earn my keep" [1]. His adult children, Spencer and Madison, both work at Nvidia but are described as relatively inexperienced [2].

Internal candidates include Kress, who has been CFO since 2013 and previously held finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft [7], and Ian Buck, who manages AI hardware and software products [2]. External names mentioned in press speculation included Arm CEO Rene Haas, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and former Apple CEO Tim Cook; President Trump later endorsed Cook on Truth Social [2].

"There's no obvious replacement," said Stephen Witt, author of The Thinking Machine, a book on Nvidia. "It's not even clear Nvidia can be the same kind of company without Jensen" [1]. Analyst Dan Ives said the board had done what it needed to do: "rip off the Band-Aid and take Nvidia into its next chapter without him" [2]. Neil Wilson of Saxo UK countered that Huang's "technical knowledge and understanding of every last bit of product is basically unique and impossible to replicate" [2].

Political and national security fallout

The scandal has drawn Washington's attention. NPR reported that the relationship with the alleged Chinese agent and what the Trump administration knew will likely be the subject of an investigation when Democrats take control of Congress in January [1]. Representative Yvette Clarke (D-NY), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the White House knowing for weeks or months was "very disturbing" [1].

President Trump initially defended Huang as an "amazing guy" and "honorable man" [3], then pivoted to endorsing Cook as successor [2].

What happens next

Nvidia still plans to report quarterly earnings on Tuesday [1]. The board said it would conduct a full search for a permanent CEO, considering internal and external candidates [7]. Kress, in a statement, pledged to "continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead" [7].

The company's dominance in AI chips — its GPUs power OpenAI, Anthropic, and virtually every major model builder — remains intact for now. Revenue reached $96 billion in the first half of fiscal 2027, up 85% year over year, with 70% growth expected in fiscal 2028 [3]. Analysts warn that replacing Huang will be difficult at a peak in U.S.-China AI competition, with the transition coming at a time the company is not prepared for [2][3].