Jen-Hsun Huang resigns from all Nvidia roles after scandal

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has resigned from all his positions at the company, including President, CEO, and board member, effective immediately. The announcement was made on the Nvidia newsroom, following an emergency board meeting convened to address a growing scandal that has unfolded over the past two weeks.

The controversy began with a New York Times report on October 29 about Huang's relationship with an alleged Chinese intelligence asset. This led to a series of events: Huang emailed all staff on November 8 to apologize for an affair, the board launched an internal investigation, and reports emerged of a potential second affair. Nvidia's share price has dropped approximately 21% since October 28.

Colette Kress, Nvidia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has agreed to serve as Interim CEO while continuing her CFO role. Harvey C. Jones has been appointed as the first chair of Nvidia's board. The board will search for a permanent successor, considering both internal and external candidates. Kress stated that the leadership team is committed to building on Huang's foundation and advancing Nvidia's work in accelerated computing and AI.

There has been no statement from Huang himself, but the board thanked him for his contributions, describing Nvidia as one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The resignation comes amid calls from some industry figures, including Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, who warned that removing Huang would harm the company and the US. Elon Musk also expressed interest in hiring Huang.