Key Notes
- Jensen Huang has resigned as Nvidia’s president, CEO and a director, effective immediately.
- Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while retaining her CFO role during the permanent search.
- Harvey Jones becomes board chair, and Nvidia’s next earnings report remains scheduled for November 17.
Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) named finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO on Thursday after Jensen Huang resigned as president, chief executive and a director, effective immediately. The departure puts a new leader in charge of the AI-chip maker just five days before its next earnings report.
The board is starting a search for a permanent successor and will consider both internal and external candidates, Nvidia announced. Kress will keep her executive vice president and CFO responsibilities while serving as interim CEO.
The decision follows earlier succession reports that directors were weighing Huang’s future and seeking outside help to identify possible replacements. Thursday’s statement confirms his immediate departure but does not set out a reason for his resignation.
*NVIDIA’S JENSEN HUANG OUT AS CEO
– *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) November 12, 2026
Kress Takes on the CEO and CFO Roles
Kress has led Nvidia’s finances since joining the company in September 2013. Her finance career also includes senior roles at Cisco and Microsoft, giving her experience across enterprise technology as well as Nvidia’s own expansion.
Her appointment gives the board a long-serving executive to run the business during the search. It also concentrates the chief executive and finance responsibilities in one person at a moment when shareholders are scrutinizing the durability of AI spending and the company’s leadership.
For NVDA investors, the distinction between the temporary appointment and the permanent search matters. Kress is taking charge now; the board has yet to name the person who will lead Nvidia over the longer term.
Harvey Jones Becomes Nvidia’s First Board Chair
The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first chair. Jones previously served as CEO and executive chairman of chip-design software company Synopsys.
Jones said Kress knows Nvidia’s business, customers, operations and financial position, and that the board has full confidence in her and the leadership team. He said the company expects its operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.
That assurance addresses the commercial question behind the management change: whether Nvidia can keep executing for customers while directors choose a successor to the founder who led it for 33 years.
November 17 Earnings Bring the Next Test
Nvidia kept its fiscal third-quarter 2027 results on the calendar for Tuesday, November 17, followed by its conference call with analysts and investors. The reporting date is unchanged despite the immediate leadership handover.
The call will give shareholders a near-term opportunity to hear how management plans to handle the transition alongside the usual questions about sales, margins and demand for AI infrastructure. Kress arrives with direct knowledge of those numbers. Her new task is to explain the business as its chief executive, too.
