Nvidia Announces Huang’s Immediate Resignation and Names Colette Kress Interim CEO

Key Facts

Nvidia announced on November 12, 2026, that Jensen Huang had resigned as the company’s chair, chief executive and board member, effective immediately, according to a company statement. The board appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim chief executive, with her continuing in the finance role until a permanent successor is chosen. The board has already begun searching for a permanent CEO, saying it will consider candidates from inside and outside the company. It also appointed Harvey C. Jones as the first chairman of the board. The sudden transition comes as markets watch the future of a company whose rise has been tied to the artificial intelligence computing boom.

Nvidia shares closed at $166.19 on November 12, according to EL7 daily data. The Associated Press reported that the stock was down 5.3% at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time in the same session, after a sharp drop at the open. Before the resignation announcement, the company had lost about $300 billion in market value since its board announced on Sunday that it had opened an investigation into Huang’s relationship, according to Reuters. In premarket trading on November 12, the stock had fallen 10.3% amid reports of board deliberations over Huang’s future. The moves reflect sharp volatility around the leadership news, while the closing price alone does not show the full scale of the stock’s decline during the session.

The pressure spread to U.S. stocks, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% and the Nasdaq 0.7% in Thursday’s session; technology stocks were the biggest drag on the broader index, according to the Associated Press. The Russell 2000 fell 1.7% in the same session. The S&P 500 had dropped nearly 1% at the start of trading before erasing its losses and closing down 0.4%. By contrast, Nvidia AI chip rivals AMD and Broadcom rose 2% and 1.4%, respectively, in early trading, as investors watched for the possibility they could benefit from disruption at the company, according to Reuters. Reuters quoted a research director as saying Huang’s departure

leaves the company without clear leadership,

and noted that he had been central to its strategy.