Nvidia CEO Faces New Affair Allegation as Board Weighs His Future

On November 11, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faced a new allegation of an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice president of health care. Five people who worked at Nvidia said the relationship took place while Powell reported to Huang, who is 63; Powell is 48.

Two of those people said Huang and Powell were recorded displaying affection at a hotel in San Jose, California, while attending an Nvidia conference in March. The two also attended the company’s GTC conference in Berlin in late October. Powell was seen around that time wearing an engagement ring. Both are married to other people.

The alleged relationship would conflict with Nvidia’s code of conduct, which tells employees to avoid situations involving conflicts, including personal relationships, and says the company investigates misconduct reports.

The allegation comes after Huang acknowledged in a Sunday memo to staff that he had an affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese entrepreneur who is being investigated over claims she shared information with Beijing. Months before, a confidential U.S. document had indicated that China’s state security ministry had recruited her. Alice Huang is not related to Jensen Huang.

Nvidia’s board was preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to consider Huang’s future as CEO, people familiar with the matter said. The claims have intensified scrutiny of the chipmaker, whose role in the expansion of artificial intelligence has helped make it one of the world’s most valuable companies.