Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns after affair with alleged Chinese spy
By Troy Myers
& Andrew Moran
Contributing Writers
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned following intense scrutiny after admitting to an extramarital affair with an alleged Chinese spy, the company announced on Thursday.
The company’s chief financial officer, Colette Kress, will serve as interim CEO.
Shares of Nvidia extended their losses following Huang’s resignation, declining more than 12% as of 9:19 a.m. ET.
“The board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption,” board chair Harvey Jones said in a news release.
Kress has served as the company’s CFO since 2013, overseeing its finances during a period of rapid growth. Prior to joining Nvidia, she spent nearly 25 years in finance leadership roles at major technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft.
“NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” Kress said in a statement.
Days earlier, the chip giant launched an investigation into Huang after he admitted on Sunday to having an affair with a woman who was suspected of being a spy for the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
Alice Huang, who is not related to the CEO, allegedly had the task of gathering intelligence on Jensen Huang and U.S. artificial intelligence chips while trying to encourage Nvidia to make its most advanced chips available for China.
Before she became a top executive at a Singapore-based data center company called Megaspeed, one of Nvidia’s largest customers in Southeast Asia, Alice Huang had professional experience in broadcast journalism, banking and securities in China.
Huang, one of the wealthiest men in the world, apologized in a message to Nvidia employees on Sunday.
“I owe my family and all of you an apology,” Jensen Huang wrote. “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.
“To my wife and family: I love you. I know an apology cannot undo what I have done. I hope our family will heal and that, over time, I can earn back your trust.”
The Nvidia board emphasized its commitment to U.S. national and economic security, as it named on Tuesday law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead the probe into whether Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
When announcing the internal investigation on Sunday, the board had said it had no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.
A Wednesday report in The New York Times, citing five people who worked at Nvidia, claimed Huang also engaged in a separate affair with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care.
President Donald Trump stood behind Jensen Huang when questioned about what he thought about the investigation and suggested the Nvidia CEO could join him on his trip to China next week.
“I just know he’s a fine person, but you never know what is going on. I hope everything’s fine,” he told reporters on Sunday, adding that the FBI is conducting its own investigation into Jensen Huang.
“He’s a fine person, in my opinion. I think he’s an honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. … He’s done an amazing job for our country.”
Nvidia and Jensen Huang were sued by shareholders on Monday, who accused the company and CEO of defrauding them by concealing the CEO’s affair with the alleged spy.
Democratic House members have called for tightening restrictions on advanced-chip exports to China.
The scandal has also impacted relations between Washington and Beijing, which U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue described as “bumpy.”
“The situation with Nvidia is another reminder that we have to stay diligent,” Perdue told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.
“National security is part of this economic conversation because economic security is national security,” he said. “And so, what we’re doing with China is bumpy right now.”
Selling pressure in Nvidia dragged the broader tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lower, down more than 1% in pre-market trading.
Nvidia has lost more than $500 billion in market value since Huang admitted to infidelity. Despite the selloff, Nvidia remains one of the world’s richest companies, with a roughly $4 trillion value.
The other leading benchmark averages — the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broad-market S&P 500 — were little changed.
