Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigns as CEO and chairman; Colette Kress named interim CEO

Nvidia, the world's most valuable chip company, has announced a major change in leadership. Co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Jensen Huang has resigned with immediate effect. He has also given up the post of chairman and his seat on the board.

Colette Kress, the company's long-serving chief financial officer (CFO), has been made interim CEO. The company announced Huang's resignation in an official statement on November 12, 2026. The sudden decision has set off discussion from Silicon Valley to stock markets around the world. Under Huang, Nvidia built an unmatched hold on the AI chip market. In recent days, pressure on the board had grown over some controversies linked to Huang's personal life and over corporate governance issues. The experienced Kress has been given the responsibility so that the company keeps running smoothly and investor confidence is maintained in this difficult period.

The board chose Kress deliberately. While interim CEO, she will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and CFO. The board has expressed confidence that day-to-day operations, agreements with customers and the roadmap for upcoming AI products will continue without disruption.

Kress's appointment is interim. The board has begun a formal search for a permanent CEO. Eminent and capable candidates from outside the company, as well as from within, will be considered. The company has also named tech investor and industrialist Harvey C. Jones as the board's first chair.

Kress is regarded as a highly experienced finance professional in the technology world. She joined Nvidia in September 2013 and has played a large part in its financial growth over more than a decade. When she joined, the company's annual revenue was about $4.13 billion. In 2026 it reached a record $215.9 billion.

Before Nvidia, Kress worked at major technology companies. From 1997 to 2010, a period of 13 years, she held several key posts at Microsoft, including four years as CFO of its Server and Tools division. She then spent three years at Cisco Systems as senior vice president and CFO of Business Technology and Operations Finance. At the start of her career she spent eight years in various finance roles at Texas Instruments.

Kress holds a degree in finance from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. She has nearly three decades of experience in the complex economics of technology companies, dealing with investors and managing global business.

Huang founded Nvidia with colleagues in 1993 and had led the company for the past 33 years. Nvidia began as an ordinary company making graphics chips (GPUs) for video games. Huang's vision and aggressive strategy changed its fortunes. He had sensed early how important artificial intelligence and data centres would become. Under him the company established its dominance in AI chips and rose to the top of the list of the world's largest and most valuable companies. In its statement, the company's board said Huang's contribution to laying the foundation of the modern AI revolution was invaluable.

The world is now watching how Kress steers the company and who becomes Nvidia's new permanent CEO.