Jensen Huang has resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer of NVIDIA, ending a 33-year run at the company he co-founded and transformed into the dominant force behind the modern AI computing boom.
NVIDIA confirmed the leadership change on November 12, 2026, saying Huang also stepped down from the company’s board of directors effective immediately.
Longtime Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has been appointed interim CEO while NVIDIA begins a search for a permanent successor. The company says it will consider both internal and external candidates.
The sudden departure comes after days of intense scrutiny surrounding Huang and an independent board investigation tied to national-security concerns raised by recent reporting.
Jensen Huang Is No Longer CEO of NVIDIA
NVIDIA’s announcement leaves little ambiguity.
Huang has resigned from three positions:
President.
Chief Executive Officer.
Member of NVIDIA’s Board of Directors.
The resignation took effect immediately on November 12.
That means one of the most influential executives in the technology industry is no longer running the company he helped create in 1993.
Huang had become almost synonymous with NVIDIA during the company’s transformation from a graphics-chip manufacturer into the central supplier of computing hardware for artificial intelligence.
Colette Kress Becomes Interim CEO
NVIDIA has appointed Colette Kress as its interim Chief Executive Officer.
Kress has served as the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since joining NVIDIA in September 2013.
She will continue serving as CFO while also holding the interim CEO position until a permanent replacement is selected.
Before joining NVIDIA, Kress spent nearly 25 years working in finance roles at technology companies including Cisco and Microsoft.
NVIDIA says she played a key role in the company’s growth and financial strategy during the years in which its AI and data-center businesses expanded dramatically.
NVIDIA Is Searching for a Permanent Successor
The company has not yet named Huang’s permanent replacement.
According to NVIDIA, the board is beginning a formal search and will consider both internal and external candidates.
That opens one of the most important executive searches in the technology industry.
Reuters reports that potential internal candidates are already being discussed, including senior technical leaders inside the company, although NVIDIA has not publicly endorsed any specific successor.
Until that process is completed, Kress will run the company.
NVIDIA Also Names Its First Chair of the Board
The leadership changes extend beyond the CEO position.
NVIDIA has appointed Harvey C. Jones as the company’s first-ever Chair of the Board.
Jones has more than three decades of experience as a technology executive, entrepreneur and investor and previously served as CEO and Executive Chairman of Synopsys.
In NVIDIA’s announcement, Jones said the board has full confidence in Kress and the existing leadership team and expects the company’s customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.
Huang’s Resignation Follows Days of Growing Pressure
The resignation comes after several days of escalating scrutiny.
On November 8, NVIDIA’s board announced an independent investigation following reports that Huang had been the target of a foreign-intelligence effort.
The board said at the time that it had no reason to believe that NVIDIA secrets or U.S. national security had been compromised, but still launched a formal review assisted by outside legal counsel.
Huang publicly supported that investigation.
Huang Had Previously Apologized to Employees and His Family
On November 8, Huang sent an internal message to NVIDIA employees acknowledging that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologizing to his family, colleagues, board members, partners and shareholders.
He also addressed reports involving national-security concerns, saying he would cooperate fully with the board’s investigation and remained committed to protecting NVIDIA and U.S. national security.
At that stage, Huang said he remained committed to NVIDIA.
Four days later, he resigned.
Reports Linked the Controversy to National-Security Concerns
Multiple reports connected the controversy to Huang’s relationship with a businesswoman whom U.S. officials reportedly suspect of involvement in intelligence gathering for China.
The Associated Press reports that the woman, Alice Huang, had ties to Singapore-based Megaspeed International, a company that has worked with NVIDIA and faced scrutiny over alleged chip shipments involving China.
China has denied allegations that it attempted to target Huang through an intelligence operation.
It is important to separate allegations from confirmed findings.
NVIDIA’s board has said it currently has no reason to believe company secrets or national-security information were compromised.
That investigation remains an important part of the story.
Separate Reports Also Raised Questions About Another Relationship
Reuters and other outlets also reported allegations involving a separate relationship between Huang and an NVIDIA employee who reported to him.
Those reports intensified pressure on NVIDIA’s board as it considered Huang’s future.
NVIDIA’s official resignation announcement does not provide a detailed reason for Huang’s departure.
The company simply confirms that he resigned and thanks him for his contributions.
Because of that, the resignation itself is confirmed, while the circumstances surrounding it continue to include reported allegations and an active investigation.
NVIDIA Shares Fell Following the Leadership Crisis
The turmoil has already affected NVIDIA’s stock.
The company’s shares fell sharply as investors reacted to uncertainty surrounding Huang’s future and the eventual confirmation of his departure.
The Associated Press reported that NVIDIA shares ended Thursday roughly 4% lower, after experiencing much steeper losses earlier in trading.
Reuters also reported broader concern among investors about what Huang’s departure could mean for NVIDIA’s strategy and the wider AI market.
For years, Huang had been the public face of both NVIDIA and the broader AI hardware boom.
His sudden departure therefore creates uncertainty that extends beyond one company.
Jensen Huang Led NVIDIA for More Than Three Decades
Huang co-founded NVIDIA in 1993 and remained its leader for more than 30 years.
The company originally became famous among PC gamers for its graphics processors and GeForce brand.
Under Huang, NVIDIA expanded far beyond gaming.
Its GPUs became fundamental to scientific computing, data centers, cryptocurrency workloads and eventually artificial intelligence.
The explosive adoption of generative AI turned NVIDIA’s data-center chips into some of the most valuable and strategically important hardware in the world.
That growth also transformed Huang from a relatively well-known technology executive into one of the most recognizable figures in the global AI industry.
NVIDIA Says Its Product Roadmap Will Continue
Despite the leadership shock, NVIDIA is trying to reassure customers and investors that its core operations will not change immediately.
The company says its existing leadership team remains in place and that customer commitments, operations and its technology roadmap are expected to continue without interruption.
Kress echoed that message in her first statement as interim CEO, saying NVIDIA will continue its work in accelerated computing and AI while serving customers, partners, developers and shareholders.
That continuity will be especially important because NVIDIA remains at the center of global demand for AI computing infrastructure.
The Timing Comes Just Days Before NVIDIA Earnings
The leadership crisis arrives at a particularly sensitive moment.
NVIDIA is scheduled to report its third-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results on November 17.
The company says the earnings announcement and conference call will proceed as previously scheduled.
Investors are therefore about to receive the first major financial update from NVIDIA since Huang’s departure.
That call could also provide more information about how the company intends to manage the transition and how long it expects the permanent CEO search to take.
A Historic Era at NVIDIA Has Ended
Jensen Huang’s departure is more than a routine CEO transition.
For most of NVIDIA’s existence, Huang was the company.
He co-founded it, ran it for 33 years, helped establish GeForce as one of the most important brands in PC gaming and later repositioned NVIDIA as the backbone of the global AI computing market.
Now, for the first time, NVIDIA will have to define its future without him as chief executive.
Colette Kress is in charge for the moment.
The larger question is who ultimately replaces one of the most influential technology executives of the modern era — and whether NVIDIA can preserve the strategy and momentum that turned it into an AI powerhouse.
FAQ
Did Jensen Huang resign as NVIDIA CEO?
Yes. NVIDIA officially announced on November 12, 2026 that Jensen Huang resigned as President, CEO and a member of the board, effective immediately.
Who is NVIDIA’s new CEO?
Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO while NVIDIA searches for a permanent replacement. She remains the company’s CFO as well.
Why did Jensen Huang resign?
NVIDIA’s official announcement does not give a detailed reason. His resignation followed reports about extramarital relationships and an independent board investigation involving national-security concerns. Those circumstances include allegations that remain under investigation.
Was NVIDIA compromised by China?
NVIDIA’s board says it currently has no reason to believe U.S. national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised. The board launched an independent investigation to examine the matter.
How long was Jensen Huang CEO of NVIDIA?
Huang led NVIDIA for approximately 33 years, from the company’s founding in 1993 until his resignation in 2026.
Who will permanently replace Jensen Huang?
NVIDIA has not decided yet. The board says it will consider internal and external candidates.
Will NVIDIA’s products be delayed?
NVIDIA has not announced any product delays related to the leadership change. The board says the company expects its existing product roadmap and customer commitments to continue without interruption.
