Colette Kress Takes Over as Nvidia’s Interim CEO

Nvidia’s board said Huang’s resignation took effect immediately on November 12 and that it would consider candidates from inside and outside the company for the permanent role. Kress, who has served as chief financial officer since joining Nvidia in 2013, will lead the company in the interim. Nvidia’s shares fell 10% in premarket trading after the news.

The leadership change followed a board investigation into whether Huang had been targeted in a foreign intelligence effort. The controversy included allegations of relationships involving Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a Nvidia customer, whom U.S. authorities suspected of spying for China, and Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia employee and vice president of healthcare. Huang admitted in a staff memo that he had been unfaithful to his wife.

Kress has worked in finance roles at Cisco, Microsoft and Texas Instruments. She reported directly to Huang and was viewed by some insiders and analysts as a potential successor, in part because of her visibility with shareholders. Huang’s leadership structure included as many as 60 direct reports, complicating succession planning.

“NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people,” Kress said, adding that she would build on the foundation Huang created. Nvidia said it would report earnings as scheduled on November 17.