Founder and long-time head of Nvidia Jensen Huang has resigned as CEO of the company. He has also left the positions of president and member of the board of directors. The decision took effect immediately, and CFO Colette Kress has been appointed interim head of the chipmaker.

Nvidia announced this in an official statement on November 12.

Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO until a permanent leader is appointed. She will also retain the positions of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Nvidia's board of directors is initiating a search for a new CEO. Candidates will include both current employees and external applicants.

Kress has worked at Nvidia since September 2013. Prior to that, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at major technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft.

Simultaneously, Nvidia announced the appointment of Harvey Jones as the company's first chairman of the board. He previously served as CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys and also worked in venture capital.

The new chairman stated that Kress knows Nvidia's business well and has the support of the management team. The company expects that the leadership change will not cause disruptions in meeting customer obligations or executing the product strategy.

Kress, for her part, stated her intention to continue developing the areas of accelerated computing and artificial intelligence that have made Nvidia a global leader.

Huang's resignation came amid a corporate investigation that Nvidia announced on November 8. The inquiry concerns reports of possible attempts by foreign intelligence to influence the company's leader.

Previously, US media also reported on Huang's personal relationships, which raised questions about corporate ethics and potential conflicts of interest. After new information emerged, the board began considering a leadership change.

At the same time, in its official announcement of the resignation, Nvidia did not state the reasons and did not directly link the decision to the investigation. The company had previously emphasized that it has no reason to believe its trade secrets or US national security were compromised.

Huang led Nvidia since the company's founding in 1993. Over more than three decades under his leadership, the graphics processor manufacturer became a key supplier of computing technologies for AI development.

The company's next major event is the release of its third-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results, scheduled for November 17. Nvidia confirmed that the reporting schedule remains unchanged.

Previously, "Kurs Ukrainy" reported on the discussion of Jensen Huang's possible resignation at a meeting of Nvidia's board of directors.

Sources: Nvidia - official announcement, statement from Nvidia board of directors, November 8