Nvidia Board Weighs Interim CEO as It Works With Outside Firm on Succession

What unfolded this week

After media accounts detailed multiple extramarital relationships involving Jensen Huang, Nvidia's board began collaborating with an outside firm to scope potential successors, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. That person asked not to be named because the matter is not public.

Directors were meeting Wednesday to decide Huang's fate and are considering naming an interim leader while a full search proceeds, the person said. According to the Wall Street Journal, the board had been planning to remove Huang, the paper said, citing unnamed sources. Nvidia did not provide a comment in response to inquiries right away.

On Sunday, Huang acknowledged being involved with Alice Huang, who serves as a data center executive at a major Nvidia client in Southeast Asia. According to The New York Times, Alice Huang was suspected of acting for the Chinese government.

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Additional revelations and the broader stakes

Late Wednesday, the Times reported, citing employees, that Jensen Huang had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, who serves as Nvidia's vice president of healthcare. Powell did not offer a comment right away when asked. Retaining Huang could subject Nvidia to heightened questioning from lawmakers, investors, customers, and employees about the Alice Huang relationship and whether it endangered company trade secrets, as well as his affair with someone who reported directly to him.

Alice Huang held an executive position at Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based firm that originated as a separation from a Chinese gaming company. Bloomberg has reported that Megaspeed has been under U.S. investigation for months over possible chip smuggling. Both Megaspeed and Nvidia have said they did nothing improper, and Beijing has rejected allegations that it conducted espionage targeting Jensen Huang.

The drama underscores Nvidia's lack of a succession plan and how closely the 63-year-old CEO is tied to the company's rise. He is the founder and the only person to have run Nvidia, credited with winning shareholder and customer respect and overseeing more than a 700,000% increase in the stock. His departure would ripple far beyond day-to-day operations, not only because Nvidia dominates the AI chip market but also because he is a prolific dealmaker who has poured resources into the AI supply chain and startups, while championing AI's benefits and downplaying existential risks.

The bottom line for investors

Markets did not wait. Nvidia fell 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the reports, reflecting how leadership uncertainty can punch a stock. Any move toward an interim boss and the contours of a permanent search will matter for how investors price Nvidia's execution through an AI upcycle that still depends heavily on Huang's playbook and relationships.

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