Two Investors Urge NVIDIA Board to Move Deliberately and Keep Huang’s Return as a Leadership Option

Key Facts

Investors Brad Gerstner of Altimeter Capital and Gavin Baker of Atreides Management urged NVIDIA’s board to take a measured approach to its leadership choice and keep open the possibility of Jensen Huang returning as CEO. A CNBC TV18 report via TradingView cited the investors’ letter warning against rushing to appoint a successor to Huang. They said the company could continue operating under interim CEO Colette Kress and her team while the board gave itself time to assess the situation. The letter follows Huang’s resignation from his positions at the company, putting the leadership transition at the forefront of shareholders’ attention. The call did not make Huang’s return a foregone conclusion, but presented it as an option for the board to consider alongside the search for a permanent successor.

The investors said the board could reject Huang’s return if, after reviewing the facts, it concluded that his return would not serve shareholders’ interests. The letter thus tied any decision about him to the board’s assessment of what it considers to be in the interests of the company and its shareholders, rather than to the request for his return alone. NVIDIA announced on November 12, 2026, that Huang had resigned as president and CEO and from the board, effective immediately. The company appointed Colette Kress, its chief financial officer, interim CEO until a permanent successor is named. The company said Kress would continue her finance duties while serving as interim chief executive, placing her team at the center of the transition.

NVIDIA said its board had begun a search for a permanent CEO and would consider candidates from inside and outside the company. The investors’ letter places that formal process alongside its call for deliberation and for keeping Huang’s return as an open possibility, while stressing that the final decision rests with the board. The board appointed Harvey C. Jones as its chair on November 11, according to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Jones has served on the board since 1993, making him one of its longest-serving members. Huang’s departure from the CEO role and board means the company is facing changes in both executive leadership and the allocation of responsibilities at board level, according to official announcements.

The call for deliberation coincided with employees’ interest in Huang’s future. A CNBC TV18 report, citing Wired, said an internal post in an employee suggestion box urged the board to take workers’ views into account and drew more than 1,600 comments, most supporting his return. But the letter cited as coming from the investors left the decision on his return with the board, noting that it could be rejected if, once the facts were clear, it did not serve shareholders’ interests. In a separate statement, NVIDIA’s board said it had begun an independent investigation into reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence operation. The board added that it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised, and that the investigation would examine the available information. These matters place the investigation and the context of the leadership transition among the considerations facing the board in its assessment, according to statements from the company and investors.

In trading, NVIDIA shares closed down 4.3% on Thursday, November 12, then recovered 1% in extended trading, according to Reuters via Investing.com. On Friday, November 13, the shares fell again, a day after Huang’s resignation, the Associated Press reported, while U.S. indexes posted their first weekly gain since early October. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% on Friday but ended the week up 2.5%. NVIDIA shares closed at $162.85 on November 13, according to EL7 data. A portfolio manager at ClearBridge said that "the risk lies in execution," noting that the company’s product roadmap for the coming years is largely visible and that Huang had led a highly complex ecosystem.

The next milestone on the company’s calendar is the release of its fiscal 2027 third-quarter results on November 17, 2026, at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific time, with the results call scheduled for 2:00 p.m., according to NVIDIA. The release comes as Kress serves as interim CEO and the board continues its search for a permanent successor from inside or outside the company. The results mark a scheduled financial event during the transition, with the company leaving the date unchanged. Against the backdrop of the stock’s performance, Reuters said NVIDIA shares had risen sevenfold through early October and that the company’s market capitalization had at one point reached about $6 trillion. A Forrester analyst said how quickly the company stabilizes under new leadership will test the resilience of the AI infrastructure boom, while continued pressure on the stock, financing relationships or ecosystem commitments could add evidence of its fragility.