Huang’s troubles came into public view on Sunday, when he apologized for being unfaithful to his wife. Days later, The New York Times reported a second affair, with an Nvidia executive who reported to him; earlier reports linked him to a businesswoman accused by U.S. authorities of being a Chinese intelligence asset. Nvidia’s board met Wednesday night, and on Thursday accepted Huang’s immediate resignation as CEO, president and board member.¹

The company named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO and began looking for a permanent successor, considering both internal and external candidates. Board chair Harvey Jones said directors had “full confidence” in Kress and expected operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption.² Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013 after finance roles at Microsoft and Cisco, said she would build on the foundation Huang created. She will keep her CFO and executive vice president roles while serving as interim chief.³

The appointment offers a familiar hand at a volatile moment. Kress has helped steer Nvidia through its transformation into a dominant AI-chip supplier, and analyst Dan Ives called her a “Swiss Army knife” with broad involvement across the business. He expects her to lead for about a year, but believes the permanent successor may come from outside Nvidia.⁴ Other coverage has noted a potential challenge: Kress’s career has been largely in finance, while Huang was deeply involved in technical decisions.⁵

Markets registered the shock immediately. Nvidia shares fell sharply after the announcement, extending a prolonged slide as investors questioned the company’s ability to sustain momentum without the only CEO it had known.³ Huang’s departure also drew a note of gratitude from Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, who praised his 33 years of leadership and support for founders.Aravind Srinivas (AravSrinivas)⁶