NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang steps down

NVIDIA Corp. on Thursday said Jensen Huang has stepped down as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the company's Board of Directors, effective immediately amid mounting scrutiny over a reported affair with a woman whom US authorities suspected of having ties to Chinese intelligence.

The NVIDIA Board appointed Colette Kress, the company's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, as Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Kress will continue to serve as CFO while leading the company until a permanent CEO is appointed.

The board said it has initiated a search process for a permanent chief executive and will evaluate both internal and external candidates for the role.

"NVIDIA Board of Directors announced today that Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately," it said in its official statement.

"Colette Kress, current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NVIDIA, has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Kress will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer while serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a permanent successor has been named," it added.

Kress joined NVIDIA in September 2013 and has overseen the company's finance organisation during a period of rapid expansion.

Before joining the AI chipmaker, she held senior finance positions at major technology companies including Cisco and Microsoft.

Separately, the Board named Harvey C. Jones as NVIDIA's first-ever Chair of the Board. Jones is a veteran technology executive, entrepreneur and venture investor who previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Synopsys.

"Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” said Harvey Jones, Chair of the NVIDIA Board of Directors.

“She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing NVIDIA’s strategy and advancing its technology roadmap. 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,” Jones added.

Meanwhile, Nvidia shares were down more than 10 per cent in pre-market trading following the news that Jensen Huang has resigned.