The Nvidia Board of Directors announced on Thursday morning that the company’s co-founder and CEO of 33 years, Jensen Huang, has resigned as president, CEO, and member of the board, effective immediately.
This is a shocking twist for one of the most valuable companies in the world, which designs the chips that make the AI boom possible. Few people would have predicted this turn of events even just a week ago, as Huang has been so central to Nvidia throughout the company’s existence that he never even established a succession plan. But Huang has now been ousted after reports that he had affairs with both an alleged Chinese spy and one of his direct reports at Nvidia.
While the company conducts a more thorough search for Huang’s successor, Nvidia CFO and Executive Vice President Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO. But beyond her name and job title, what do we know about the person who will now lead a company worth about $3.8 trillion?
According to Nvidia’s website, Kress has worked at the company since September 2013. Before that, she spent three years as an SVP and CFO of Cisco’s Business Technology Operations Finance organization. She also worked at Microsoft for 13 years, where she spent four years as CFO of the Server and Tools division. She holds a finance degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.
The California-based 59-year-old has a very limited social media presence — on Linkedin, she has commented some well wishes on former colleagues’ posts about their retirement. But as CFO, she’s been a regular presence on Nvidia’s earnings calls, making her a familiar figure for analysts covering the company.
According to Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, Kress’ net worth is estimated to be about $1.2 billion. Her Forbes profile adds that she initially joined Nvidia in part because her two sons endorsed the company for its role in the video game industry, which it was best known for at the time.
“Nvidias strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” Kress said in a statement. “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.”
Nvidia is slated to report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, when we will likely hear more from Kress about her plans for the company’s immediate future.
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