Nvidia’s $3.8 Trillion Interim Handoff Puts Colette Kress in Charge

Nvidia, the California-based chip designer valued at about $3.8 trillion, announced Thursday morning that co-founder Jensen Huang had resigned as president, CEO and a director, effective immediately, with CFO Colette Kress taking over on an interim basis. Huang led the company for 33 years, and its chips underpin the AI boom behind its valuation.

The board is conducting a more thorough search for a permanent successor. The abrupt change was especially unexpected because Huang had been central to the company throughout its existence and had never established a succession plan. One week earlier, the prospect of a leadership handoff at Nvidia still looked remote.

The account surrounding Huang’s departure also raises allegations that remain unestablished: reports said he had affairs with an alleged Chinese spy and with one of his direct reports at Nvidia. The account did not identify either person or provide supporting evidence, and the board characterized his exit as a resignation, even as the account called the move an ouster.

Leadership changed hands in hours. Kress, Nvidia’s CFO and executive vice president, now runs the company until the search produces a permanent successor. No operating plan or interim deadline accompanied Thursday’s announcement.

What did Kress promise?

Kress said: “NVIDIA’s strength has always come from our people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years.”

She continued: “We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”

Who is Colette Kress?

According to Nvidia’s website, Kress, 59, has worked at the company since September 2013; she serves as CFO and executive vice president. Before Nvidia, she spent three years at Cisco as senior vice president and CFO of its Business Technology Operations Finance organization. She previously spent 13 years at Microsoft, including four as CFO of the Server and Tools division.

Her formal training combines a finance degree from the University of Arizona with an MBA from Southern Methodist University. Kress keeps a low public profile: her LinkedIn activity consists of some good wishes on former colleagues’ posts about their retirement.

As CFO, she has been a regular presence on Nvidia earnings calls, making her a familiar figure for analysts who cover the company.

Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women estimated Kress’s net worth at about $1.2 billion. Its profile says her two sons endorsed Nvidia and helped prompt her to join because of the company’s role in video games, then its best-known business.

Her finance background and earnings-call experience now matter. She leads Nvidia for now, while the board searches for a permanent chief executive. Her statement committed to the company’s accelerated-computing and AI franchise but offered no figures for capacity, pricing or product shipments.

What can Tuesday’s earnings report resolve?

Nvidia is scheduled to report quarterly earnings Tuesday, when investors are likely to hear more from Kress about the company’s immediate plans. That will be the first public test of the interim arrangement: whether she can give customers, developers and shareholders a clear account of continuity under new leadership.

The unanswered succession question, rather than a disclosed operating plan, dominates the calendar. No capacity expansion, pricing change, shipment forecast or successor-selection timetable accompanied Thursday’s announcement, so Tuesday’s remarks may carry more weight than a routine quarterly update.

At Tuesday’s earnings report, investors will look to Kress for evidence on leadership continuity, pricing or capacity; the announcement supplied none of those operating details.