What's Happening With Nvidia's CEO

Jenna Riley RPI

Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia 33 years ago and led it to become one of the world's most valuable companies, is out as CEO. On Thursday, November 12, Nvidia's board announced that he had resigned as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately. The company gave no reason. News reports, however, tie his exit to a fast-moving personal scandal with national-security overtones.

What happened.....

According to Al Jazeera, Huang, 63, left after reports of two relationships. One was reportedly with a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia partner, who is alleged to be a Chinese intelligence asset. The other, first reported by the New York Times, was with an Nvidia vice president who reported to him.

The board reportedly met Wednesday night to discuss removing him. Al Jazeera reports that the FBI, Congress and Nvidia itself have opened investigations, and that a shareholder class action has been filed. None of these allegations has been proven, and Nvidia's statement does not mention them.

CFO Colette Kress is now interim CEO and will keep her CFO role while the board searches inside and outside the company for a permanent successor. Board member Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys CEO, becomes Nvidia's first-ever board chair.

Why it matters...

Huang wasn't just Nvidia's CEO. He was the public face of the AI chip boom, and investors priced in his leadership. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, reports that Nvidia has lost more than $600 billion in market value this week and that the stock slid more than 10% in Thursday pre-market trading.

The China angle raises the stakes. Nvidia's chip sales to China are tightly limited by US export controls, and Megaspeed has reportedly been investigated over whether Chinese companies gained access to its Nvidia chips. Any hint of a security breach could draw more scrutiny from Washington, not just the board.

Nvidia is one of the biggest companies in the S&P 500, so when it has a rough week, a lot of index and tech funds feel it too, even if you’ve never owned a share of Nvidia directly. A leadership shake-up can rattle confidence in the short term, but over time what usually matters most is whether demand for AI chips holds up, which is why so many people will be listening to the November 17 earnings call. Moments like this are a good reminder to check how much of your portfolio is riding on one company or one theme, and whether that still fits your goals.

What to watch next...

The next big moment is Nvidia's fiscal Q3 2027 earnings (Aug–Oct 2026), still set for Tuesday, November 17, with the call at 2 p.m. PT. It will be Kress's first test as interim CEO, and investors will listen for any sign that customers or the product roadmap are affected. Beyond that, watch for the CEO search, findings from the board's outside law firm, and any moves by the FBI or Congress.

This story is still developing, and many details come from press reports rather than official findings.

Sources

NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition, Nvidia newsroom
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang steps down amid spy scandal and market loss, Al Jazeera
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns, CBS News