WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Thursday pushed for Apple chief executive Tim Cook to take the helm of Nvidia, intervening directly in Silicon Valley's leadership shakeup following the sudden resignation of billionaire founder Jensen Huang.
Huang stepped down from the semiconductor giant after revelations exposed two extramarital affairs — one involving an alleged Chinese intelligence asset and another with an internal company executive. The fallout was immediate. The scandal abruptly ended Huang's decades-long tenure at the chipmaker, triggering rapid leadership shifts across the American tech sector.
Trump declared there was "only one man" suited to steer the world's preeminent artificial intelligence chipmaker through the turbulence. His choice was Cook. The public endorsement thrusts Apple's veteran chief directly into the crosshairs of global semiconductor geopolitics, where advanced microchips remain central to trade frictions and national security standoffs between Washington and Beijing.
| Corporate Transition Details | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Company in Transition | Nvidia |
| Outgoing Chief Executive | Jensen Huang (Resigned) |
| Resignation Catalyst | Dual affairs; alleged Chinese intelligence asset link |
| Proposed Successor | Tim Cook |
| Incoming Apple Leadership | John Ternus |
Yet any executive migration would disrupt Apple's own planned transition. Hardware engineering chief John Ternus has been positioned to step forward as the new boss in Cupertino, facing immediate headwinds that include navigating Trump's administration, aggressive artificial intelligence rollouts, and high-stakes hardware product cycles.
Nvidia and Apple have yet to issue formal board determinations on Trump's leadership proposal as markets await regulatory disclosures and board confirmation on the final succession appointments.