Nvidia Stock Plunges As CEO Jensen Huang Resigns

The stock of chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ: $NVDA) is down 10% in pre market trading on news that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang has resigned. 

Nvidia’s board of directors has named Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Colette Kress the company’s interim CEO as its searches for a permanent replacement for Huang.

Huang’s resignation comes after revelations of another affair by the long-time Nvidia CEO. 

Earlier this week, Huang admitted to having an affair with a woman who is accused of being a Chinese spy. 

The New York Times reported late on Nov. 12 that Huang also had an affair with a senior executive at Nvidia who reports directly to him. 

The report claims that Huang had an extramarital affair with Kimberly Powell, who is vice president of health care at Nvidia and reports to him. 

The board of directors at Nvidia was reported to have met into the night on Nov. 12 to decide the fate of Huang, who has now stepped down as the company’s CEO. 

But replacing Huang will likely not be easy. He co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and is credited with building it into the top maker of microchips that power artificial intelligence (A.I.) technologies.

Huang is also a member of Nvidia’s board of directors and the company’s largest individual shareholder, owning 870 million shares or 3.5% of the outstanding stock. 

Nvidia has never publicly disclosed succession plans or talked about who might replace Huang, who is currently age 63. 

Jensen Huang is also viewed as a public face for the A.I. infrastructure buildout and has been a vocal champion of the technology and the financing behind it. 

Before Nov. 12, NVDA stock had declined 10% over the past year. In the last month, the company’s share price has fallen nearly 25% to trade at $173.73 U.S.