Nvidia names Colette Kress interim CEO as Jensen Huang resigns
Colette Kress keeps the CFO role while Nvidia searches for a permanent CEO. November 17 earnings will offer an early check on the leadership transition.
Nvidia said Thursday, November 12, that Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive and a director, effective immediately. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while keeping her finance responsibilities, putting the company's operations and financial leadership under the same executive during the search for a permanent successor. Nvidia's transition announcement
The announcement resolves the immediate question of who runs Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA). It leaves a consequential second question: how the board will divide responsibilities for the longer term. A familiar executive can provide continuity, but an interim appointment is still an unfinished succession plan.
Kress keeps both roles during the search
Kress has been Nvidia's executive vice president and CFO since September 2013. Her interim CEO appointment lasts until a permanent successor is named. The board will consider candidates from inside and outside the company.
Nvidia also appointed Harvey C. Jones its first board chair. The structure gives Kress responsibility for running the business while Jones chairs the body responsible for choosing its permanent leader. The release does not set a deadline for that choice.
There is a practical argument for the dual assignment: Kress enters the job with years of knowledge of Nvidia's finances and business. The tradeoff is the breadth of the temporary remit. Investors have reason to look for clarity about how executive decisions and the finance workload will be shared while the search proceeds.
The next checkpoint is November 17
Jones said the board expects Nvidia's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption. That is the board's expectation; the announcement cannot demonstrate how the transition will play out.
Nvidia is keeping its scheduled third-quarter fiscal 2027 results release on Tuesday, November 17, at approximately 4:20 p.m. Eastern, with the earnings call at 5 p.m. Eastern. Those events give the company an early opportunity to explain the handover alongside its financial results and outlook. Original earnings schedule
TrendyVest's November 11 report on the board's succession preparations covered reports that the board was preparing for a leadership change. Thursday's release confirms Huang's departure and Kress's appointment. The company's stated form of departure is a resignation.
The first test of this arrangement is whether Nvidia can support the board's expectation of continuity with specific answers about responsibility and delivery. Naming an interim leader settles authority today. Explaining how the business will run under that leader is the work ahead.