Nvidia board considers Arm CEO Rene Haas among candidates to replace Jensen Huang

Nvidia's board has begun a search for a new chief executive following Jensen Huang's resignation. The Financial Times reported that the board has approached Arm Holdings chief executive Rene Haas, a former Nvidia vice president, as a possible successor. Haas, who joined Arm in 2013 and became its CEO in 2022, is noted for his familiarity with Nvidia's products and experience leading a publicly traded chip company.

Colette Kress, Nvidia's chief financial officer, is serving as interim CEO while the board selects a search firm. The board said that speculation about specific candidates is premature.

Internal discussions revealed that some Nvidia employees have called for Huang's return, with a post on the company's intranet attracting more than 1,600 comments. Billionaire Elon Musk also indicated on X that a petition to reinstate Huang was circulating, though Nvidia and Arm declined to comment on the reports.

Analysts highlighted Haas's unique background as a factor that could ease a transition, noting that he would not need extensive onboarding. Other names mentioned include senior Nvidia engineer Ian Buck, who led the development of the CUDA platform, and external executives such as AMD chief Lisa Su, Micron chief Sanjay Mehrotra, Marvell head Matt Murphy and Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji. Former Apple chief Tim Cook was also cited by US President Donald Trump as a possible candidate.

Arm's U.S.-listed shares fell about 5% after the news, while Nvidia's stock closed roughly 2% lower, adding to a weekly market value decline of about $573 billion. The leadership change comes as Nvidia faces increased regulatory scrutiny and potential new export restrictions on its chips to China.