88% of Nvidia Staff backed Jensen Huang as CEO. Then came a second affair report: Who decides if he stays?

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had strong support in an employee poll that ended Tuesday. A day later, The New York Times reported that Huang had a second alleged affair, with Nvidia healthcare executive Kimberly Powell. Reuters reported that Nvidia’s board met Wednesday to consider removing him. The timing matters: the poll measured support before the Powell report became public.

Blind surveyed 232 Nvidia employees on Nov. 9 and 10, according to Investing.com. Of those who answered, 88% wanted Huang to stay. Eleven percent said he should resign, while 1% wanted directors to remove him.

In a separate Blind poll of 1,689 professionals, 60% wanted Huang to stay. Eighteen percent backed a resignation, while 22% wanted the board to remove him. Support was stronger in the employee poll. The results don’t show how the full Nvidia workforce felt or whether views shifted after Wednesday’s report.

What did the second Jensen Huang affair report say?

The Times cited five people who worked at Nvidia saying that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Powell, the company’s vice president of healthcare. The newspaper said Powell reported to him. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report. Nvidia and Powell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Huang had acknowledged being unfaithful in a Sunday message to employees. He did not give details about the relationship in that message, Reuters reported. His admission followed earlier reporting about Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer. She is not related to the Nvidia CEO.

What is Nvidia investigating about the Chinese spy allegations?

Nvidia’s board said on Nov. 8 that it would investigate whether Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The announcement followed reporting that U.S. authorities had investigated Alice Huang over alleged links to Chinese intelligence. China denied the allegations, Reuters reported. The news agency said it could not reach Alice Huang for comment.

Independent directors will oversee the inquiry with help from outside lawyers. Nvidia’s board said it had no reason to believe company secrets or U.S. national security had been compromised. Huang agreed to cooperate, the board said. Nvidia has not publicly said whether the Powell report is part of that inquiry.

Who decides whether Jensen Huang stays as Nvidia CEO?

Nvidia’s directors have the final say. A majority of the board can remove Huang under the company’s bylaws, Reuters reported. He has held the job since co-founding Nvidia in 1993 and led its shift from graphics chips to processors that power artificial intelligence. If he leaves, Nvidia would have its first change of CEO. The company is due to report quarterly results on November 17.

FAQs

Has Jensen Huang been fired as Nvidia CEO?

As of Nov. 12, Nvidia had not publicly announced his removal. Reuters reported that the board had met to consider it.

Did Nvidia confirm that company secrets were leaked?

No. The board said it had no reason to believe company secrets or U.S. national security had been compromised