Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia Chairman and CEO, Colette Kress Named Interim CEO

Nvidia's board announced on November 12, 2026 the immediate resignation of Jensen Huang as President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, positions he had held since co-founding the company in 1993, 33 years ago. Colette Kress, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2013, has been named Interim CEO in addition to her current role, until the board names a permanent successor. Harvey C. Jones, a longtime director and former CEO of Synopsys, becomes the first-ever Chair of Nvidia's Board.

No official reason given

Nvidia's official press release gives no reason for the departure. It thanks Jensen Huang for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry, and says operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap are expected to continue without interruption. The board says it has full confidence in Colette Kress and the leadership team, and is initiating a search for a permanent CEO, considering both internal and external candidates. Q3 fiscal 2027 results are still scheduled for November 17, 2026, as previously announced.

The context: a board investigation into a possible foreign intelligence targeting

The resignation comes four days after the board announced, on November 8, 2026, an independent investigation in light of reporting that Jensen Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. According to US outlets (The Washington Post, CBS News, NBC News, CNBC, CNN), Huang acknowledged an affair with Alice Huang (no relation), an executive at cloud company Megaspeed, whom US intelligence reportedly suspects of passing information to Beijing. China's foreign ministry called the spying allegations unsubstantiated. On November 10, the board's independent directors confirmed they had retained attorney Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead the investigation. Nvidia stock fell about 4% the Monday after the initial reports.

The November 12 press release announcing Huang's resignation does not explicitly tie it to that investigation, which had not been reported as concluded at the time.

Key takeaways

• Jensen Huang resigns as President, CEO and board member, effective immediately.
• Colette Kress (CFO since 2013) becomes Interim CEO until a permanent successor is named.
• Harvey C. Jones becomes Nvidia's first-ever Board Chair.
• Nvidia's release gives no official reason for the departure.
• The board opened an investigation on November 8 into whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort, after he acknowledged an affair.
• Q3 fiscal 2027 earnings remain scheduled for November 17, 2026.

Photo: Jensen Huang at Stanford, April 2026. Credit Anders Eidesvik, CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Sources

• NVIDIA Newsroom: "NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition," November 12, 2026
• NVIDIA: "Statement From NVIDIA Board of Directors," November 8, 2026
• NVIDIA: "Statement From the Independent Members of the NVIDIA Board," November 10, 2026
• The Washington Post, CBS News, NBC News, CNBC, CNN: coverage of the board investigation (November 8-12, 2026)