NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) dropped a bombshell Thursday: Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive officer and a member of the board, effective immediately.
Huang co-founded the chipmaker and ran it for 33 years, turning what started as a graphics card business into one of the most important suppliers in the artificial intelligence buildout. That's a long tenure by any standard, and an even longer one in Silicon Valley, where CEOs sometimes seem to last about as long as a smartphone refresh cycle.
Huang Out, Kress In
Colette Kress, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will serve as interim CEO, the company said in a press release. She will keep her finance duties until a permanent successor is named. The board has started a search and will consider both internal and external candidates.
Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 and has run its finance organization since then. Before her arrival, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at technology companies including Cisco Systems Inc. Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Microsoft Corp. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).
The board also created a new position. Harvey C. Jones becomes Nvidia's first-ever chair of the board. Jones has worked as an entrepreneur, technology executive and venture investor for more than three decades, and he previously served as CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys Inc. Synopsys Inc. (SNPS).
Jones praised Kress for her grasp of Nvidia's customers, operations and financial position. He said the board expects operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption, and he pointed to an experienced leadership team behind her.
Moving Forward
Kress said she intends to build on the foundation Huang created and keep the company focused on accelerated computing and AI.
"Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders," she said.
The board thanked Huang for what it called immeasurable contributions to the company and the broader industry.
Nvidia will report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at about 1:20 p.m. PT, with its earnings call to follow at 2 p.m. PT. The schedule has not changed. Investors will be watching for any further detail on Huang's exit and on how long the interim setup might last.
NVDA Stock Price Activity: Nvidia stock was down 8.40% at $159.13 during premarket trading Thursday, according to market data.
