Nvidia’s board was working with an outside firm to find possible successors to CEO Jensen Huang as directors met on 11 November to discuss his future, Bloomberg reported on 12 November. The search brings a leadership decision closer for the AI processor supplier Huang has run throughout its history.
Key points
- The board is considering a temporary CEO while it looks for a permanent replacement.
- Analysts and investors view finance chief Colette Kress and engineer Ian Buck as possible short-term successors.
- Nvidia shares fell 8 percent in extended trading on 11 November following the reports.
Nvidia directors weigh a temporary CEO
Directors are considering appointing a temporary chief while they search for someone to take the job permanently, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the situation. That is a possible route for the board, rather than a decision to replace Huang.
The board met amid reports of two extramarital affairs involving Huang, Reuters reported. Huang has never named a successor. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the board meeting.
Bloomberg reported that Huang had acknowledged a relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed International, a Nvidia customer in Southeast Asia. It also reported that The New York Times had described her as suspected of acting for the Chinese government. Megaspeed and Nvidia denied wrongdoing, while Beijing dismissed the spying allegation.
Kress and Buck offer different routes
Analysts and investors see chief financial officer Colette Kress and engineer Ian Buck as particularly likely successors, at least in the short term, Reuters reported. Their names come from those assessments, rather than an announced board shortlist.
Kress joined Nvidia in 2013 and appears alongside Huang on its quarterly results calls. Josh Gilbert, lead analyst at trading platform eToro, said her familiarity to investors made her the obvious choice to provide continuity if the company needed an interim chief.
Gilbert drew a distinction between that role and the permanent job. He said Nvidia’s technological advantage could lead the board towards an engineer, naming Buck as the kind of internal candidate it might consider.
Buck joined Nvidia in 2004 and helped develop CUDA, the software system used to run computing workloads on its chips. He now leads product for hyperscale AI, managing the company’s AI hardware and software products.
Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities, called Buck the strongest long-term internal candidate if Nvidia needs a transition. He pointed to Buck’s work on CUDA and his leadership of the hyperscale business.
Nvidia shares fall 8 percent
The question extends beyond who would run an earnings call or direct product development. Huang has been Nvidia’s only chief executive, and Reuters reported that speculation on 11 November also included Arm chief Rene Haas, longtime Nvidia executive Jeff Fisher and two of Huang’s children, both Nvidia executives.
Nvidia shares fell 8 percent in extended trading following the reports on 11 November.
