Colette Kress for now, but who next? Inside the race to become only the second CEO in Nvidia’s history

Nvidia has appointed Colette Kress as its interim CEO after Jensen Huang stepped down following two controversies involving his reported relationships with two women. Huang's exit ends his 33-year run at the company he co-founded. Kress has served as Nvidia's executive vice president and CFO since 2013. She will lead the AI chipmaker until the board finds a permanent replacement. Who could take over next?

Who is Colette Kress, Nvidia's new interim CEO?

Kress is not an outsider brought in to manage the crisis. She has been part of Nvidia's senior leadership for more than 13 years and has worked closely with Huang on the company's financial strategy and investor communications.

She joined Nvidia in September 2013 as executive vice president and CFO. Before that, she held senior finance positions at Cisco, Microsoft and Texas Instruments. At Microsoft, she worked in the Server and Tools division, while her responsibilities at Cisco included financial planning, reporting and business development.

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Her experience at Nvidia has covered a period of extraordinary growth. The company's annual revenue increased from $4.13 billion when she joined to $215.9 billion in fiscal 2026, according to Reuters.

Kress has also become a familiar face to Wall Street investors through Nvidia's quarterly earnings calls. She has regularly discussed revenue, margins, capital spending and demand for the company's AI processors.

Who could become Nvidia's permanent CEO? Ian Buck, Rene Haas and others

Nvidia has not announced a permanent successor. However, several names have emerged in succession discussions following Huang's departure.

Ian Buck: The Nvidia engineer behind CUDA

Buck is among the leading internal names discussed by analysts and investors. He joined Nvidia in 2004 and played an important role in developing CUDA, the software platform that allows developers to use Nvidia GPUs for computing tasks beyond graphics.

He currently leads Nvidia's hyperscale AI product business, which serves major data-centre customers. His experience with the company's hardware and software gives him a direct connection to the business driving Nvidia's growth.

Some analysts have identified Buck as a possible long-term successor because Nvidia's future depends heavily on maintaining its position in AI computing.

Rene Haas: The external candidate from Arm

Arm CEO Rene Haas is another name in the succession discussion. He previously held senior positions at Nvidia before joining Arm, where he became CEO in 2022.

Haas has experience in semiconductor technology, chip architecture and the commercial side of the industry. His previous association with Nvidia could also help him understand its business and relationships.

His name has been raised by analysts and an industry banker as a possible external choice. However, there is no confirmation that Nvidia has offered him the position.

Jeff Fisher: A 32-year Nvidia veteran

Fisher is another internal executive mentioned in Reuters' succession reporting. He has spent more than three decades at Nvidia and has extensive experience across its products and business operations.

His long association with the company could be useful during a leadership transition. However, he has received less attention than Buck and Kress in the public discussion about the next CEO.

Chris Malachowsky: Nvidia's co-founder

Malachowsky co-founded Nvidia with Huang and Curtis Priem in 1993. He remains closely associated with the company's engineering history and technology development.

His experience could help Nvidia maintain continuity, although there is no public indication that he is seeking the CEO position.

Johny Srouji: Apple's hardware chief

Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies, has also appeared in external succession discussions. He leads Apple's silicon development, including its in-house processors.

His semiconductor experience makes him a name worth watching, but he has not been confirmed as a candidate or approached publicly by Nvidia.

Huang's departure follows reports about two alleged extramarital relationships that raised questions about his conduct and Nvidia's corporate governance.

The first controversy involves Alice Huang, a businesswoman formerly associated with Singapore-based cloud computing company Megaspeed. US authorities reportedly identified her as a Chinese intelligence asset and investigated suspected efforts to help Chinese businesses access restricted Nvidia AI chips.

The second report, published by The New York Times on November 11, concerned Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare and life sciences. The newspaper reported that she had a relationship with Huang and cited five people who had worked at Nvidia. Powell reportedly worked directly under him.

What does Jensen Huang's exit mean for Nvidia stock?

The company's stock had already come under pressure as reports about the investigations emerged. Investors are now assessing whether a new leadership team can maintain the pace of innovation and business expansion that Huang oversaw.

Nvidia's underlying business, however, remains substantial. Its second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue reached $96.2 billion, including $89 billion from its data-centre business. The company had also forecast third-quarter revenue of $108 billion, plus or minus 2%.

Its next earnings report, scheduled for November 17, will be an important test of investor confidence.