Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns in wake of affair with woman suspected of spying for China
Jensen Huang resigned as CEO of AI tech giant Nvidia effective immediately following a scandal involving an alleged spy, the company's board of directors announced Thursday.
The decision came amid an investigation into Huang's affair with a woman U.S. intelligence agencies suspect was spying for China.
Nvidia's board had been preparing to oust Huang, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday night, plans that were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Huang's ouster also follows a New York Times report Wednesday that five employees at Nvidia came forward alleging Huang was romantically involved with a subordinate, Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare.
The Times also reported Huang and Powell, who are both married to other people, were caught on video being affectionate at a conference in March, according to two Nvidia employees. The Times has not seen the video and CBS News has not verified the report.
The company's interim CEO will be Colette Kress, who is currently Nvidia's chief financial officer and will continue in that role.
"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," Harvey Jones, who was announced as the company's first board chair, said in a statement.
Kress has been Nvidia's CFO since she joined the company in 2013. She previously worked in finance roles at tech companies like Cisco and Microsoft for nearly 25 years.
Kress said in a statement that the company's focus will be on "serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders."
"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.
The board said it will be conducting a search for a permanent CEO and will consider internal and external candidates.
Nvidia was co-founded by Huang in 1993. It became one of the most valuable companies in the world by designing the powerful semiconductors that fuel many of the world's leading AI firms, making its technology highly sensitive and subject to export controls limiting sales to China.
Nvidia's stock plunged as news emerged of the company's turmoil, potentially erasing more than $700 billion in value.
