Nvidia Board Weighs CFO Colette Kress For Interim CEO Role Amid Uncertainty Over Jensen Huang’s Future: Report

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) directors are weighing potential leadership changes, including an interim CEO plan if founder and CEO Jensen Huang is removed.

Some board members favor appointing CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO, Semafor reported on Thursday. The board had not reached a decision, and directors were scheduled to meet Wednesday evening to discuss the company’s leadership situation.

Apple Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) hardware chief, Johny Srouji, is another candidate under consideration. The executive was also considered for Intel Corp.’s (NASDAQ:INTC) CEO role in 2019, according to the report.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

Huang’s Leadership Under Growing Scrutiny

The leadership discussions follow a report alleging Huang had an affair with Nvidia Vice President of Health Care Kimberly Powell, who reports to him. A separate report stated that Nvidia’s board was preparing to remove Huang after learning he had two extramarital affairs.

The report also comes amid growing scrutiny of CEO Jensen Huang over allegations of an affair with Singapore-based Megaspeed employee Alice Huang, who is suspected of working as a Chinese spy.

Analysts Divided Over Succession Impact

Earlier Wednesday, tech analyst Dan Ives described Huang as the "central nervous system" of the U.S. technology ecosystem and said Nvidia had no succession plan amid the China-related allegations. Ives called Huang "irreplaceable," arguing that his departure would disrupt not just Nvidia but the broader U.S. technology ecosystem he helped build. Ives estimated a 15% chance of Huang leaving within 12 months but warned that an immediate exit could trigger a 25%–30% drop in stocks.

On the other hand, Dan Niles, founder of Niles Investment Management, compared Nvidia’s leadership uncertainty to Apple’s experience following co-founder Steve Jobs’ departure and death in 2011, noting that Apple shares still gained 25% that year. Niles suggested that losing a visionary founder does not necessarily derail a company’s stock performance.

Price Action: Year-to-date, Nvidia fell 6.85%, as per Benzinga Pro. It declined 6.97% to trade at $161.65 during Thursday’s pre-market session.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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