Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns after reports of extramarital relationships

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned in the wake of reports that he had multiple extramarital relationships, including one with a suspected agent of China and another with an executive who reports to him — a stunning turn of events for the head of a company at the heart of the global AI investment boom.

In a statement, Nvidia’s board said: “Colette Kress, current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NVIDIA, has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer.”

The company also named its first chairman. That role will be filled by Harvey Jones, who is a former CEO of major chip company Synopsys. The addition of a chairman is a major governance overhaul at the company that for decades relied solely on Huang.

Nvidia’s board met Wednesday night to address Huang’s future at the company, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News, adding that the White House was aware of the meeting.

Nvidia shares plunged more than 11% after the board’s announcement.

Huang, 63, had been with Nvidia since he co-founded the Silicon Valley chipmaker in the early 1990s, and he presided over the company during its meteoric rise amid the AI boom of…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business