Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigned immediately on Nov. 12 as the chipmaker’s president, CEO and board member, and CFO Colette Kress became interim CEO while directors search for a permanent successor.
Kress will keep her finance role during the transition. She joined Nvidia in 2013 and previously held finance positions at Cisco and Microsoft, according to the company. The board said it would consider candidates from inside and outside the company.
It appointed director Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair. Jones said the board had confidence in Kress. He expected Nvidia’s operations, promises to customers and plans for future products to continue without interruption.
The company’s announcement did not give a reason for Huang’s departure. His departure followed days of news reports about alleged personal relationships and a board investigation into reports that a foreign intelligence effort had targeted him. Those reports included allegations involving a business executive reportedly linked to Chinese intelligence.
The claims remain allegations. Nvidia has not said they prompted Huang’s resignation. Huang’s departure marks a sudden change at the company he co-founded in 1993.
He led Nvidia as it grew from a graphics-chip maker into a major supplier for AI computing. Nvidia said it remained on schedule to report quarterly results on Nov. 17. The results will be an early test of the leadership transition.