NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang resigns amid affair scandal with alleged Chinese spy, agrees to appear before US Congress
On 12 Nov, American tech titan NVIDIA announced that Jensen Huang had resigned as president, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and a member of the Board, effective immediately.
Source: Jensen Huang via LinkedIn
This departure followed an internal investigation and scrutiny after Huang admitted to having an extramarital affair in a company-wide email on 8 Nov.
The Taiwanese-American founder said that he was unfaithful to his wife of 41 years, Lori Mills Huang, and had an affair with Alice Huang, a former executive of Singapore-based tech firm Megaspeed.
Who replaces Huang?
Following Huang’s resignation, NVIDIA has appointed Colette Kress as interim CEO.
Source: NVIDIA Newsroom
Prior to joining NVIDIA, Kress spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at leading technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft.
Since joining the company in Sept 2013, Kress has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Source: Wikipedia
NVIDIA noted that during her tenure, Kress has also led the company’s finance organisation and has played a key role in NVIDIA’s growth and evolution.
She will continue her existing roles while serving as interim CEO, as the board searches for a permanent CEO.
Trusts Kress to lead NVIDIA through unexpected controversy
Alongside Kress’s new position, NVIDIA’s Board of Directors appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever Chair of the Board.
Jones has been an entrepreneur, technology executive, and active venture investor for over 30 years, including serving as CEO and Executive Chairman of Synopsys.
In response to Kress’s new position, Jones said: “Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position.”
Source: Wikipedia
“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.”
Finally, NVIDIA acknowledged Huang’s contributions, saying his work towards NVIDIA is “profound”.
Source: @CartoonsOTMoon on X
“The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry,” NVIDIA stated.
Huang willing to appear before Congress after resignation from NVIDIA
After news of his resignation broke out, Huang indicated that he is willing to appear before the United States (US) Congress to discuss whether US national security was compromised.
Source: Wikipedia
This follows the news of his affair with a former executive of Singapore-based tech firm Megaspeed, Alice Huang, who is facing intense scrutiny over allegations of being a Chinese spy.
On 30 Oct, reports from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) furthered the claim that Alice Huang was targeting Jensen Huang in the capacity of a spy.
Source: @Byron_Wan on X
The article stated that authorities in Singapore and Taiwan had investigated Ms Huang’s background and affiliations to China, even placing her under physical surveillance.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington rejected the allegations at the time, saying China was opposed to the peddling of a “Chinese spy narrative” and that its technological development was grounded in “independent innovation”.
In a statement on 31 Oct, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) clarified that no such investigations were conducted on Alice Huang, nor could this claim be attributed to the Singapore government.
Since Jensen Huang’s public admission of infidelity, NVIDIA’s stock has tumbled, closing at US$178.67 on 9 Nov, its lowest since 7 April.
While it has recovered some ground, stocks closed more than 4% down, with the firm shedding more than half a trillion in market value.
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Featured image adapted from @CartoonsOTMoon on X and Wikipedia.