From Fortune · Sheryl Estrada · · 3m
Nvidia CFO Kress takes interim CEO role as succession looms
Colette Kress steps in after Jensen Huang's resignation over an affair that raised national security concerns, but the company has no succession plan.
In brief
Colette Kress steps in after Jensen Huang's resignation over an affair that raised national security concerns, but the company has no succession plan. Nvidia named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO after co-founder Jensen Huang resigned Thursday over an affair raising national security concerns. The company has no public…
Nvidia names CFO interim CEO
Nvidia appointed CFO Colette Kress interim CEO, replacing co-founder Jensen Huang, who resigned Thursday after admitting to an affair that raised national security concerns.
Kress keeps finance role too
Kress will continue serving as finance chief while taking the helm of Nvidia, making her the latest Fortune 500 company to name its CFO interim CEO.
The right choice, experts say
Scott W. Simmons, co-managing partner of executive search firm Crist Kolder Associates, said Kress is very much the right interim CEO. As CFO for thirteen years, she knows the company's story front and back.
“very much the right interim CEO”
Extraordinary growth under Kress
Since Kress joined in two thousand thirteen, Nvidia's revenue grew from four point one three billion dollars in fiscal two thousand fourteen to one hundred thirty point five billion dollars in fiscal two thousand twenty-five.
Market cap soars forty-four thousand percent
Nvidia's market capitalization climbed from about nine billion dollars to nearly four trillion dollars today, an increase of roughly forty-four thousand percent during Kress's tenure as CFO.
Kress ranks among most powerful women
Kress ranks number forty-nine on the Fortune two thousand twenty-six Most Powerful Women list. She previously held roles at Cisco, Microsoft and Texas Instruments before joining Nvidia.
No public succession plan existed
The company had no publicly disclosed succession plan. Replacing a founder-CEO is especially challenging, said Simmons, who has worked in executive recruiting for almost thirty years.
Finding Huang's replacement is difficult
When you're talking about cutting-edge technology that's evolving at light speed, you're trying to find someone who could pick the ball up and carry it down the field, and that's difficult, Simmons said.
“When you're talking about cutting-edge technology that's evolving at light speed, you're trying to find someone who could pick the ball up and carry it down the field, and that's difficult”
Board likely seeking a technologist
Simmons expects Nvidia's board to look for a technologist to succeed Huang. Nvidia has named Harvey Jones chair of the board, who has worked in technology, including semiconductors, for more than thirty years.
Ian Buck a potential internal contender
One potential internal contender is Ian Buck, who joined Nvidia in two thousand four and is now vice president of hyperscale and high-performance computing and a key architect of its AI business.
Kress steers through pivotal moment
As interim CEO, Kress must help steer Nvidia through a leadership transition at a pivotal moment for the AI industry.The company plays a crucial role in shaping the technology's future in the U.S.and beyond.
Permanent role remains an open question
Whether Kress could eventually become Nvidia's permanent leader is another question. The board's search for a successor to Huang will determine whether she transitions from interim to permanent CEO.
The bottom line
Nvidia named CFO Colette Kress interim CEO after co-founder Jensen Huang resigned Thursday over an affair raising national security concerns. The company has no public succession plan.
