Nvidia is searching for its first permanent CEO since co-founder Jensen Huang stepped down after 33 years at the helm. The Financial Times reported Friday that the board had approached Arm CEO Rene Haas, a former Nvidia executive. Nvidia's board said it was still choosing a search firm and had yet to formally engage any candidates. Longtime finance chief Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO.
Nvidia said in a securities filing that its board accepted Huang's resignation as president, CEO and director on Nov. 11. The company announced the departure the following day and named Harvey C. Jones, a director since 1993, as its first board chair. Kress, who has led Nvidia's finance operation since 2013, will continue as CFO while the board considers internal and external candidates.
Nvidia's 2026 proxy statement put Huang's beneficial ownership at 3.58%, or about 871 million shares. As Forbes reported Friday, Nvidia went public in 1999 with a one-share, one-vote structure. Huang's roughly 3.6% stake gave him roughly 3.6% of the shareholder vote. Under Nvidia's bylaws, a majority of directors can remove an officer, Reuters reported, leaving decisions about the CEO's tenure in the board's hands.
At Meta, an October securities filing put Mark Zuckerberg's voting power at 60.6%. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin held 52.7% of Alphabet's voting power between them as of April 6, according to an Alphabet filing. Their Class B shares carry 10 votes each, giving the founders a majority on shareholder decisions such as electing directors.
Reuters reported Friday that Huang had described his interactions with businesswoman Alice Huang to Nvidia executives as routine customer dealings, citing two people familiar with the matter and internal messages it reviewed. Huang had previously apologized for being unfaithful to his wife. His representative and an Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment on the latest Reuters report.
Nvidia's independent directors have retained outside counsel to investigate reports that Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. When it announced the inquiry, the board said it had no reason to believe Nvidia's secrets or U.S. national security had been compromised. The company's next scheduled public update is its quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. Pacific.
