Nvidia named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim Chief Executive Officer on Thursday, handing the helm of the global artificial intelligence chipmaker to its longtime finance chief after Jensen Huang resigned amid a scandal over an extramarital affair with a suspected Chinese spy.
Kress will handle both jobs. The company confirmed she will continue serving as Executive Vice President and CFO while steering operations as interim CEO until the board selects a permanent successor.
Huang built the semiconductor powerhouse from scratch over 33 years. His abrupt exit leaves Kress in charge of Nvidia's hardware rollout and commercial alliances at the peak of global demand for enterprise accelerated computing.
Board leaders moved swiftly to reassure investors and supply partners that company strategy will not falter.
She is supported by an experienced leadership team that has been instrumental in executing NVIDIA's strategy and advancing its technology roadmap. The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team, and we expect the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.
Harvey Jones, Chair of the NVIDIA Board of Directors
Harvey Jones praised Kress for navigating the company through years of "extraordinary growth," citing her working grasp of the firm's balance sheet, customer commitments, and daily operational footprint.
Kress is no newcomer to high-stakes technology balance sheets. She joined Nvidia in 2013 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, steering the chipmaker's fiscal expansion across the past decade.
Before entering Nvidia, Kress accumulated roughly 25 years of corporate finance leadership across major technology firms. She previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Cisco, and held corporate vice president duties at Microsoft. She earned her Master of Business Administration in finance from the SMU Cox School of Business.
| Executive Parameter | Official Detail |
|---|---|
| Outgoing Executive | Jensen Huang (Resigned Thursday) |
| Interim Chief Executive Officer | Colette Kress |
| Concurrent Role | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
| Tenure at Nvidia | Joined in 2013 (Over 10 years as CFO) |
| Prior Corporate Experience | Senior Vice President & CFO (Cisco); Corporate VP (Microsoft) |
| Academic Credential | MBA in Finance, SMU Cox School of Business |
Market Context: Kress takes command during Nvidia's most critical expansion phase, where market leadership depends entirely on uncompromised supply-chain execution, data center customer trust, and seamless transition from founder-led governance to institutional leadership.
Addressing the workforce and stakeholders upon assuming the chief executive post, Kress anchored her mandate on institutional stability and existing technical momentum.
Together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years. We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.
Colette Kress, Interim CEO and CFO, Nvidia
Nvidia confirmed that its formal search for a permanent chief executive officer is underway, with Kress managing corporate operations, product roadmaps, and stakeholder commitments until that appointment concludes.
| Board Leadership | Harvey Jones, Chair of the Board of Directors |