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November 13, 2026
Nvidia co-founder and longtime chief executive Jensen Huang stepped down on Thursday (November 13, 2026), following reports of two extramarital affairs, one involving an Nvidia executive who reported to him and another involving a woman alleged to be a Chinese spy. While Mr. Huang apologised for being unfaithful and Nvidia investigates whether he was targeted by foreign intelligence, the chipmaker’s shares have tumbled more than 30% from their October peak.
In a bid to reclaim control, Nvidia’s finance chief, Colette Kress, will assume the role of interim CEO, taking over from Mr. Huang, the company announced on Thursday (November 12, 2026). This will put her in charge of the chipmaker whose processors power the world’s most advanced supercomputers and AI data centers.
A 13-year Nvidia veteran
Ms. Kress is far from an outsider to the $4 trillion AI mammoth in the artificial intelligence industry. She joined Nvidia in September 2013 as executive vice president and chief financial officer and has held the post since. She has appeared alongside Mr. Huang on the company’s quarterly earnings calls. Prior to joining Nvidia, Ms. Kress worked at Cisco, Microsoft and Texas Instruments.
Nvidia’s revenue was $4.13 billion in the fiscal year she joined and $215.9 billion in fiscal 2026.
Career and education
Before Nvidia, Ms. Kress spent nearly 25 years building her career at some of the tech sector’s biggest giants. She started out with an eight-year stint in finance roles at Texas Instruments before moving to Microsoft, where she worked from 1997 to 2010 and became CFO of the server amd Tools division.
She moved to Cisco (CSCO.O) in 2010 as senior vice president and chief financial officer of its Business Technology and Operations Finance organisation, where she was responsible for financial strategy and business development. She left for Nvidia in 2013, eventhough Nvidia was the smallest company she had ever worked for.
She holds a bachelor’s degree finance from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.
Net worth and contract terms
Nvidia’s stock rise over the past decade made Ms. Kress one fo the wealthiest executives in the world. Forbes ranked her No. 32 on its 2026 list of America’s richest self-made women. At the stock’s October peak, her Nvidia holdings pushed her personal net worth past $1 billion, though the recent market slide reduced her company shares to roughly $750 million. She was awarded a pay package worth $14 million for Nvidia’s fiscal 2026, according to Nvidia’s proxy statement. This also includes restricted stock units.
Executive officers at Nvidia are employed at will and have no individual employment, severance or change-in-control agreements, according to the company’s proxy statement. Nvidia has said in earlier filings that many of its peer companies offer such agreements.
What lies ahead for Kress and Nvidia
In a statement on Thursday, Ms. Kress said that Nvidia’s “strength has always come from its people” and that she would build on the “extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years.”
Nvidia hasn’t provided any notable new updates in its internal review. Moreover, the company didn’t address either of Mr. Huang’s relationships in its Thursday announcement.
Market watchers believe the board may still look externally for a permanent succesort t lrad the AI linchpin forward.
(With Reuters and AP inputs)
Published – November 13, 2026 11:51 am IST
