Nvidia faces leadership vacuum as CFO Colette Kress becomes interim CEO

Nvidia announced on Thursday that co-founder and long-time chief executive Jensen Huang will step down following revelations of personal relationships that U.S. officials suspect involved Chinese intelligence. The resignation leaves the AI-chip maker without a clear successor.

Chief financial officer Colette Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013 after stints at Cisco and Microsoft, will assume the role of interim chief executive while retaining her finance duties. The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones, former chief executive of Synopsys, as its first chair.

"There’s not someone who is sort of prepped and ready to go next in line," said Carmem Domingues, a senior AI adviser in the White House. Analysts note the absence of an internal heir apparent; The Information’s Martin Peers suggested possible external candidates such as AMD chief Lisa Su, Arm CEO Rene Haas, or Intel’s Lip-Bu Tan.

Investors have historically valued Nvidia for both its technology and Huang’s vision. Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said the market will now need to assess how much of that premium was tied to a single individual. Bloomberg Intelligence’s Mandeep Singh warned that the company may become less aggressive under new leadership, a factor that could affect its race to deliver successive AI-chip generations.

Rival chipmakers could benefit if customers diversify orders. Charu Chanana of Saxo Markets noted that AI leadership might broaden, naming AMD, Broadcom, Alphabet and Samsung as potential beneficiaries.

Nvidia’s quarterly results, due on 17 November, will be the first test of the interim team’s performance.

The leadership change also raises concerns about broader AI-industry stability. Domingues warned that many AI firms rely on Nvidia for hardware and financing, and a disruption could have cascading effects. Some investors, such as Sheikha Maytha Bint Maktoum, view any impact as likely temporary given Nvidia’s established ecosystem.

In Europe, Nvidia recently secured a partnership with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and announced an AI hub in Stockholm. The company reported an investment of nearly $1 billion in Germany in 2025, involving firms like Siemens and Audi. It remains uncertain whether a new CEO will maintain the same level of engagement with these initiatives.

Huang had served as an informal adviser on AI to President Donald Trump and advocated against restrictions on advanced chip sales to China. With his departure and ongoing espionage allegations, analysts suggest Nvidia’s influence in Washington could diminish. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons have requested that the administration preserve all documents related to Nvidia’s chip exports to China. Beijing has denied the spying claims and accused the United States of using them to justify a technological blockade.