Jensen Huang leaves Nvidia after scrutiny over alleged ties to a suspected Chinese operative and an internal affair

Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang has stepped down as chief executive following revelations surrounding his personal relationships. The chipmaker confirmed in an SEC filing that its board accepted Huang's resignation on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO while maintaining her finance duties, and long-time board member Harvey C. Jones has been appointed as Nvidia's first-ever board chair while the company searches for a permanent successor. [1][2]

The leadership change followed intense pressure after reports that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang, the former managing director of Singapore data center firm Megaspeed, who is suspected by United States authorities of being an intelligence asset for China. China denies the espionage claims, and Megaspeed and Nvidia have maintained that past chip-smuggling investigations cleared the Singapore firm of illicit transfers. Scrutiny escalated further when The New York Times reported Huang also had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia vice president who reports directly to him. [1][2]

Huang admitted to cheating on his wife in a message to staff, while Nvidia's stock fell about 8% in after-hours trading and law firms began recruiting shareholders for potential class-action lawsuits. The scandal comes amid strict American export limits on advanced artificial intelligence processors, leaving Nvidia under heightened political and legal pressure as congressional leaders plan subpoenas regarding the executive's conduct. [1][2]