Jensen Huang resigns as NVIDIA CEO amid affairs scandal

Jensen Huang, the co-founder and longtime president and CEO of NVIDIA, announced his resignation amidst affair concerns on Thursday, November 12, 2026.

NVIDIA said in a press release that Colette Kress, current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NVIDIA, has agreed to serve as interim CEO.

Huang’s extramarital affairs spark security and privacy concerns

Huang resigned from NVIDIA following multiple reports that he had an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese business executive.

The New York Times reported in late October 2026 that U.S. intelligence agencies were investigating Alice Huang, a former executive of Megaspeed. The Singapore-based company buys chips from NVIDIA.

New reports suggest that Alice Huang is an asset of China's Ministry of State Security, the country's main intelligence agency.

Jensen Huang admitted to the extramarital affair with Alice Huang on November 10.

The Times reported on November 11 that five NVIDIA employees came forward and alleged that Jensen was romantically involved with Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA’s vice president of healthcare and a subordinate at the company. CBS News had not verified the report as of this article’s publication.

NVIDIA provided the following statement about Jensen Huang.

“Jensen’s contributions to NVIDIA are profound. NVIDIA is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”

Kress takes over as interim CEO, Harvey C. Jones named as first-ever NVIDIA Chair of the Board

With Jensen Huang out, Kress was named as NVIDIA’s interim CEO. NVIDIA said that Kress joined the company in September 2013. At NVIDIA, the company said that she has led its finance organization and played a key role in NVIDIA’s growth and evolution. Before joining NVIDIA, Kress spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft.

“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,” she said in the press release. “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.”

Alongside Kress’ appointment as interim CEO, the company also named Harvey C. Jones, former CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys, as NVIDIA’s Chair of the Board.

“Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” Jones said in the press release. “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.”

At publication time, NVIDIA’s total market cap had dropped by nearly $2 trillion since the initial affair news was reported.