Jensen Huang resigns: Colette Kress named Nvidia's interim CEO

Jensen Huang has resigned as Nvidia’s president and CEO and given up his seat on the board of directors, effective immediately, the board announced on Thursday, November 12, 2026. Colette Kress, the company’s chief financial officer, is now interim CEO. The board has started looking for a permanent successor.

Jensen Huang resigns: what do we know?

The press release is short and gives no reason. It says nothing about the board’s investigation, about Alice Huang, or about the New York Times report from the night before. What it does contain is thanks for his “immeasurable contributions” to the company and the industry.

Only hours earlier, all we had were the WSJ’s anonymous sources, which I covered in the post on the board preparing to oust Huang. That article ended with a note to wait for an official statement from the board, and now we have one. Formally this is a resignation, not a removal, although according to Reuters the board met on Wednesday precisely to consider removing him.

Huang is 63, co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and ran it for 33 years. He is still its fourth-largest shareholder with a stake of about 3.61% (Reuters’ figure), so he hasn’t vanished from the company entirely.

Who is Colette Kress?

Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 and has been its CFO ever since. Before that she spent almost 25 years in finance at technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft. She keeps the CFO job until a permanent successor is chosen.

In the release she says she intends to build on the foundation Huang created over the past 33 years, and that the company will focus on its customers, partners, developers and shareholders.

I read the choice of a finance person as a signal to investors and customers that the numbers and the shipments are under control. It is hard to see it as a decision about who will set the direction for the next generations of chips. The board doesn’t pretend otherwise: the release calls Kress an “interim” CEO, and the search for a successor covers candidates both inside and outside the company. That fits Wednesday’s Bloomberg report that Nvidia is already using an outside firm to find candidates.

What else did the board change?

Nvidia has a chair of the board for the first time in its history. The job went to Harvey C. Jones, a former CEO and chairman of Synopsys, who according to CNBC has sat on Nvidia’s board since 1993, which is to say from the very beginning.

Jones says the board has full confidence in Kress and the leadership team, and that the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap will continue “without interruption”.

How did the market react?

Nvidia shares fell more than 10% in premarket trading (according to Reuters). Yahoo Finance recorded a price of $156.20 overnight, the lowest since July 2025. The record close on October 6 was $239.24.

Analysts have already rewritten their ratings:

1. Bernstein cut its rating to “Market-Perform” and its price target from $400 to $200. The note is titled “Where did he find the time?” (analysts have a sense of humor too).
2. Rich Schafer of Oppenheimer also downgraded the stock and withdrew his price target altogether, calling Huang’s departure an event that could change the whole investment thesis.
3. Ruben Roy of Stifel thinks the change itself matters less for the share price than the way it is carried out.

According to CNBC, Nvidia has dropped behind Apple in the ranking of the world’s most valuable companies.

What’s next for Nvidia?

The first test comes on Tuesday, November 17. Nvidia has kept the date for its third-quarter fiscal 2027 results, and Huang won’t be on the call with analysts.

Several things the release doesn’t address remain open. We don’t know what happens to the board’s investigation into Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang (I wrote about it in the post on Jensen Huang and the China spy report). November 12 was also the deadline for answering the invitation from members of Congress to a closed-door meeting (according to Yahoo Finance).

For people who follow AI, the most interesting part will be the name of the permanent successor. Reuters points out that Huang lobbied to keep access to the Chinese market and had a direct relationship with Donald Trump, so his departure could affect US chip export policy. Whoever takes over that role will shape more than one company’s share price.

FAQ

Has Jensen Huang left Nvidia?

Yes. On November 12, 2026, the board of directors announced that he had resigned as president and CEO and from the board, effective immediately. He remains a shareholder.

Who is Nvidia’s CEO now?

Colette Kress, Nvidia’s CFO since 2013, on an interim basis. The board is looking for a permanent successor among internal and external candidates.

Why did Jensen Huang resign?

Nvidia gave no reason. The resignation came after several days of reports about two affairs and during a board investigation into his relationship with a woman suspected of working for Chinese intelligence.

When does Nvidia report earnings?

On Tuesday, November 17, 2026, as previously scheduled.