Who Could Replace Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO Amid Scandal?
Nvidia’s board of directors is preparing to oust chief executive Jensen Huang following reports of extramarital affairs, including one with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. The company faces a difficult succession challenge to replace the leader who built the artificial intelligence chip giant over three decades.
Nvidia Stock Falls as Board Discusses Replacing Huang
Nvidia’s board is meeting to discuss whether to replace Huang after the scandal came to light, BBC News reported. The company’s stock fell over 7% in after-hours trading on November 11, according to The Motley Fool. Wall Street analyst Dan Ives estimated that if Huang is removed, the company could be worth 25% to 30% less, changing global competition for AI GPUs, The Motley Fool reported.
“We believe if Jensen was removed as CEO, Nvidia is worth a lot less as a company and stock and would change the future direction of the company,” Dan Ives wrote on X on November 10, as cited by The Motley Fool.
OpenAI is also altering its hardware strategy.
OpenAI has a plan to stop paying Nvidia’s high prices by replacing its infrastructure with custom chips over the medium to long term, 24/7 Wall St. reported. OpenAI signed deals with AMD and Broadcom to build custom accelerators starting in the second half of 2026, according to 24/7 Wall St.
NYT says Jensen Huang had a relationship Nvidia's vice president of health care. https://t.co/restNfM7wJ
“Jensen is a very unique CEO,” said Futurum Group's CEO Daniel Newman, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Analysts Weigh Internal and External Candidates to Replace Huang
Finding a permanent replacement for Huang will be difficult. Colette Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer and executive vice president, has seen the firm’s transformation into an AI semiconductor powerhouse. Kress has a 30-year industry background with Cisco and Microsoft, but analysts note the firm may ultimately prefer an engineer for the top job. “Kress fronts every earnings call alongside Huang and is a familiar and trusted voice for the market at a time when it badly needs one,” said Josh Gilbert, an analyst at investment firm eToro, told BBC News.
Other internal candidates include co-founder Chris Malachowsky, BBC News reported. External names have also surfaced among market watchers. Investment strategist Charu Chanana floated Rene Haas, chief executive of Arm Holdings, BBC News reported. “The challenge is finding someone who can combine Jensen’s technical understanding, strategic vision and relationships across the global technology industry,” Jun Bei Liu told BBC News.
More on Jensen Huang
Useful summary of situation – scandal affecting political climate in Washington and adding momentum to legislation to tighten export controls but unlikely to infringe upon Trump’s near-term leader-level diplomacy with Xi. https://t.co/XBrKH2QuXy
The New York Times reports Jensen Huang allegedly had another affair, this time with $NVDA VP of Healthcare Kimberly Powell citing five people who worked at the company. The two were reportedly seen being affectionate at a hotel during Nvidia's March conference. pic.twitter.com/JrvMc302Xd