Nvidia announced on Thursday, 12 November, that Jensen Huang had resigned, with immediate effect, as chairman and chief executive, as well as from the company’s board of directors.

According to the company’s announcement, Colette Kress, currently Nvidia’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer (CFO), will take over as interim chief executive.

Ms Kress will retain her existing responsibilities until a permanent successor to Mr Huang is appointed. Nvidia’s board is launching a search for a new CEO, considering candidates from both within and outside the company.

Who is Colette Kress?

Colette Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013, taking up the roles of executive vice-president and chief financial officer.

During her tenure, she has led the company’s finance operations, playing a significant role in its growth and development.

Before joining Nvidia, she spent almost 25 years in financial roles at major technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft.

Harvey C. Jones appointed chairman of the board

Nvidia also announced the appointment of Harvey C. Jones as the first chairman of the company’s board of directors in its history.

Mr Jones has more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, technology industry executive and venture capital investor. Among other roles, he has served as chief executive and executive chairman of Synopsys.

In a statement, Mr Jones highlighted Ms Kress’s contribution to Nvidia’s growth and expressed the board’s confidence in its new interim leader.

“Colette has helped guide Nvidia through a period of extraordinary growth and has deep knowledge of our business, our customers, our operations and our financial position,” he said.

He added that Ms Kress was supported by an experienced management team that had helped implement the company’s strategy and advance its technology.

He also assured investors that the board had full confidence in the new leadership and expected Nvidia’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.

Colette Kress’s first statement

For her part, the new interim chief executive referred to Jensen Huang’s legacy, stressing that her aim was to continue Nvidia’s growth trajectory.

“Nvidia’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our management team, I am committed to continuing to build on the extraordinary foundation Jensen has created over the past 33 years,” she said.

Ms Kress stressed that the company would continue to advance its work in accelerated computing and artificial intelligence, while making the most of the opportunities ahead.

“Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders,” she added.

Nvidia pays tribute to Jensen Huang

In its announcement, Nvidia paid particular tribute to Jensen Huang’s contribution, recognising the decisive role he played in the company’s development.

The board and the company thanked Mr Huang for his invaluable contribution both to Nvidia and to the technology industry as a whole.

Financial results due on 17 November

Nvidia also confirmed that it would announce its financial results for the third quarter of the 2027 financial year as scheduled, on Tuesday, 17 November, at approximately 1.20pm Pacific Time.

A conference call to present the results will follow, as originally planned.