Jensen Huang has officially resigned as NVIDIA CEO, ending 33 years of leadership at the company he cofounded. NVIDIA confirmed the departure on November 12, 2026, appointing Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO while launching a search for a permanent successor. The unexpected transition comes amid growing controversy surrounding Huang's personal conduct and concerns about the company's leadership.
According to NVIDIA's official announcement, Huang stepped down as President, Chief Executive Officer, and member of the Board of Directors, effective November 11. The company's SEC filing confirms that the board accepted his resignation and appointed Kress to oversee operations. She joined NVIDIA in September 2013 and previously held senior financial positions at Microsoft and Cisco. Kress will continue serving as CFO during the transition, while the board evaluates internal and external candidates for the permanent leadership position.
The resignation follows recent allegations involving Huang's personal relationships and concerns about potential foreign intelligence activity. Although the controversy intensified pressure on NVIDIA's leadership, the company's official announcement does not specify the reason for his departure. NVIDIA has also appointed Harvey C. Jones, a longtime board member and former Synopsys executive, as its first independent Board Chair. Jones expressed confidence in Kress and NVIDIA's management team, emphasizing that existing customer commitments, operations, and technology development plans are expected to continue without interruption.
In her first official statement as interim CEO, Kress emphasized maintaining NVIDIA's position in accelerated computing and artificial intelligence while building upon the company's existing technological foundation.
"Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders."
— Quote by: Colette Kress, NVIDIA Interim CEO.
Huang's departure represents a historic leadership change for the semiconductor industry. Since founding NVIDIA in 1993, he helped transform the company from a gaming graphics specialist into a dominant supplier of AI accelerators and data center infrastructure. According to Reuters, NVIDIA shares closed down 4.3% on November 12 as investors evaluated the potential consequences for its AI investments, international partnerships, and future growth. NVIDIA is scheduled to report its fiscal 2027 third quarter financial results on November 17, providing an early opportunity for investors to assess the company's direction under its new leadership.
Jensen Huang's resignation marks the end of an era for NVIDIA and the broader PC industry. His leadership helped establish GeForce as a major gaming platform before transforming NVIDIA into an AI computing powerhouse. However, the company's increasing dependence on AI infrastructure has also raised concerns about consumer GPU availability, pricing, and the future of gaming hardware. Under Colette Kress, maintaining technological leadership should not come at the expense of the PC gaming market that helped build NVIDIA. A successful transition will require corporate stability, transparent governance, and continued investment in accessible consumer graphics hardware.
Do you believe NVIDIA can maintain its dominance without Jensen Huang, or could new leadership finally bring greater attention to PC gaming and consumer GPUs?
