Colette Kress interim CEO: Nvidia's CFO takes over after Jensen Huang resigned Nov. 12. Her background, the stock fall and what's next.
Key Facts
- Nvidia announced November 12, 2026, that Jensen Huang has resigned as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately, and named Colette Kress interim CEO.
- The board also named Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys chief, as its first-ever board chair.
- Nvidia shares fell about 10% in premarket trading, and the company has lost over $600 billion in market value in a week.
- Kress faces her first big test on Tuesday, November 17, when Nvidia reports earnings.
Nvidia named Colette Kress interim CEO on November 12, after co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as president, chief executive and board member, effective immediately, ending his 33-year run. It also makes Colette Kress interim CEO at the most turbulent moment in the company’s history.
The board’s statement gave no reason for Huang’s departure, and included no statement from him. It came four days after the board opened an independent investigation into reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. It also came one day after The New York Times reported a second alleged affair, this time with a senior Nvidia executive.
Who Is Colette Kress, Nvidia’s Interim CEO?
Kress, 59, has been Nvidia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer since September 2013. Before Nvidia, she spent three years as a senior vice president and CFO at Cisco. Before that, she spent 13 years at Microsoft, four as CFO of its Server and Tools division.
Forbes ranks her No. 32 among America’s richest self-made women, worth about $1.2 billion. As CFO, she has led Nvidia’s earnings calls for over a decade, so analysts know her well. On the other hand, she keeps a very low public profile.
“NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people,” Kress said in the company’s statement, “and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years.”
How Did Jensen Huang’s Resignation Happen?
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Oct 29 | The Times reports U.S. officials believe China recruited Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, who had a relationship with Jensen Huang. |
| Nov 8–10 | Huang emails staff admitting infidelity. The board opens an investigation, then hires former acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim and Wachtell Lipton to run it. |
| Nov 11 | The Times reports a second alleged relationship, with health care VP Kimberly Powell. The Journal reports the board is preparing to oust Huang. |
| Nov 12 | Nvidia announces Huang’s resignation and names Kress interim CEO. Reuters later reports a third alleged relationship. |
Two things are confirmed: Huang’s admission of infidelity, and the board’s investigation. The relationships themselves are reports, not facts. The Times sourced the Powell report to five former Nvidia staff, and it has not seen the video it describes. The spy claim rests on unpublished intelligence assessments, and China calls the reports smears. No one has been charged with anything. We covered the Powell report in our earlier article on Jensen Huang’s second alleged affair. The money question is explored in our piece on a possible Jensen Huang divorce.
What Happened to Nvidia’s Stock?
The market has already passed its verdict. Nvidia shares fell about 10% in premarket trading, and about 13% during the day, according to CNBC. As a result, the company’s market value slipped below $4 trillion. Nvidia has lost more than $600 billion in market value since the previous Thursday.
Bernstein cut its Nvidia price target in half, from $400 to $200, on Thursday. The numbers matter because Nvidia’s chips power the world’s most advanced AI data centres. Its revenue grew from $4.13 billion in the fiscal year Kress joined to $215.9 billion in fiscal 2026.
What Is Next for Nvidia?
First, earnings. Nvidia still reports third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17, at 1:20 p.m. PT, with a call at 2 p.m. PT. For Kress, that is familiar ground: she has led the call for years as CFO. But this time the questions will cover leadership and the investigation, not just the numbers.
Second, the succession search. The board said it will consider internal and external candidates for the permanent job. One name in circulation is Ian Buck, a senior engineering executive tied to CUDA. For now, though, the board has given no timetable.
Third, the investigation continues. The independent review led by Joon H. Kim has not published any findings. In addition, Reuters reported that Huang allegedly had a third relationship with another, unnamed Nvidia employee. Nvidia declined to comment, and the woman could not be reached. As with the earlier reports, it is an allegation, not a finding.
Finally, the bigger question is whether Nvidia can steady itself without the founder who defined it. Huang co-founded the company in 1993 and never set up a succession plan. Now the company must prove it can run without him. Kress has five days until earnings to start making that case.
Sources
- Nvidia Newsroom — board statement, November 12, 2026
- TechCrunch — “Jensen Huang is out at Nvidia”: techcrunch.com
- Inc. — “Who Is Colette Kress?”: inc.com
- Reuters factbox — “Who is Nvidia interim CEO Colette Kress?”: wixx.com
- Gizmodo — third-affair report (Reuters): gizmodo.com
