Chris Takes Over as Nvidia’s Interim CEO After Huang Resigns, With Shares Down 8.2%
Key Facts
Nvidia confirmed on November 12 that Colette Kress had agreed to serve as interim chief executive, following Jensen Huang’s resignation as president and chief executive and from the board, effective immediately. The move puts Kress at the helm of a company whose high-performance chips are among the leading building blocks of artificial intelligence, as investors assess the impact of Huang’s departure on the company and the sector. Kress will continue to serve as chief financial officer alongside her new role. The company did not set a date for naming a permanent chief executive, but said Kress would remain in the position until a successor is selected. The board is looking at candidates from inside and outside the company.
Kress said she was committed to building on the foundation Huang had laid over 33 years, adding that Nvidia’s strength comes from its employees. Her remarks put the team’s experience at the center of her message as she takes charge, while her interim role combines company leadership with financial oversight. Kress joined the company in 2013 and has since served as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Before joining Nvidia, she worked at Cisco, Microsoft and Texas Instruments. Her continued service as finance chief means her new executive responsibilities will be added to her current role, the Associated Press reported.
Concern over Huang’s departure weighed on the stock on Thursday, with Nvidia shares falling 8.2% in early trading to their lowest level in more than 16 months, according to Reuters. The company’s market value was at risk of closing below $4 trillion for the first time since July 2025, Reuters said. In another reading of the session, Reuters reported that the stock was down 7.6% as investors focused on the implications of Huang’s resignation for the sector. Before Thursday’s session, the share price had fallen 27% from the period cited in the Associated Press report through Wednesday, November 11, amid concerns about whether Huang would remain in his role and the company’s future without him. The figures show pressure that began before the resignation was announced and returned in Thursday’s session as it became clear Huang would leave immediately.
Thursday’s moves were not limited to Nvidia: CoreWeave shares fell 9.1% after rising more than 27% in the previous session, following results that fueled a rebound in AI stocks. By contrast, AMD and Broadcom shares rose 3.7% and 5.6%, respectively. A Reuters report linked the gains among competitors to expectations that Nvidia’s disruption could give them an opportunity. Whether some of the pressure or funding will shift to smaller companies remains an open question, according to Joe Saluzzi of Themis Trading. Saluzzi said the possibility that funding could dry up for smaller companies that need it was “an open question.”
The leadership change comes at a company whose standing in artificial intelligence depends on its high-performance chips, which the Associated Press described as among the leading building blocks of the field. In this context, the succession process is tied to investors’ concerns about the effect of Huang’s departure on the company and the sector, concerns that accompanied Thursday’s share-price decline. Kress will hold two executive roles until the board selects a permanent chief executive. The search will consider candidates from inside and outside Nvidia, according to the company as quoted by the Associated Press. The information available from the company did not name a permanent successor or give a timetable for completing the selection.
Attention now turns to the third-quarter results for fiscal 2027, which ended on October 25. Nvidia scheduled a call to discuss the results for November 17. The company said results would be announced at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific Time, with Kress set to provide written commentary immediately after their release. The date gives investors a near-term opportunity to assess the company’s performance amid the leadership change. It will be the first scheduled occasion for Kress to discuss the company’s results after taking over as interim chief executive.