72 hours ended Jensen Huang's tenure: what changed with the second revelation, and who leads NVIDIA now?

Executive summary

NVIDIA's board accepted the resignation of its founder Jensen Huang as president, chief executive and board member on 11 November 2026, effective immediately. This was announced on the morning of 12 November in a material-event filing (Form 8-K), a disclosure that listed US companies must submit when a significant event occurs. It came just three days after a statement in which the board expressed “confidence in Jensen” and his leadership team.

What changed between the two statements? The first case, reported by The New York Times in late October, concerns Huang's relationship with a businesswoman at Megaspeed. US officials suspect that the businesswoman works for China's Ministry of State Security. In his letter to employees on 8 November, Huang acknowledged that he “had been unfaithful to his wife”. The second account, published by the same newspaper on 11 November, citing five people who had worked at NVIDIA, describes a separate relationship with the company's vice-president for health care, who reports directly to him; neither the company nor Huang confirmed it. This account shifted the case from private conduct and an investigation into intelligence targeting to corporate governance, the rules governing a company's management and oversight: a relationship between a chief executive and a direct subordinate. That same day, The Wall Street Journal reported that the board was “preparing to oust him”. The board met on Wednesday evening, and the resignation was accepted that same day.

Who leads now? Colette Kress, 59, chief financial officer since September 2013, became interim chief executive while retaining her finance role, with no interim chief financial officer named. Harvey Jones (Harvey C. Jones), 73, a board member since 1993 and former chief executive of Synopsys, became the first board chair in the company's history. The company will consider internal and external candidates for permanent chief executive. Names reported in the press, without any company confirmation, include Kress herself, Ian Buck, Arm chief executive Rene Haas, and Jeff Fisher.

What we do not yet know: The filing disclosed neither the reason for the resignation, nor any separation arrangements or advisory role, nor the fate of his unvested shares.

The market: The stock opened on 12 November at 150.99 dollars and fell to 148.80 dollars at 14:31 GMT, down 14.35% from the 11 November close, wiping about 601 billion dollars off market capitalization, the number of shares multiplied by the share price, at that point (EL7 calculation). It then pared its losses to 165.76 dollars (−4.59%) at 17:45 GMT, when this report was written. At least six analysts downgraded their recommendations overnight, according to CNBC. Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives & Co. valued the stock at 300 dollars with Huang and 225 dollars without him: a difference of 75 dollars per share, or about 1.81 trillion dollars across the company (EL7 calculation), one estimate of what might be called the “founder premium”.

What the EL7 model says: The model, which knows nothing about the case, still ranks NVIDIA 9 out of 166 companies in its industry, with a score of 86.93 and a growth score of 99.71. The sentiment pillar has collapsed (21.41). The business has not changed yet; what has changed is who runs it.

What determines the next phase: Q3 results on 17 November, the first released in Huang’s absence; then the outcome of the briefing requested by House committees for 18 November; the class action, a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of affected parties; and the search for a permanent chief executive.