Is Jensen Huang Leaving Nvidia? Potential Successors and Risks Facing NVDA Stock

TradingKey - Nvidia's (NVDA) succession question has evolved from a hypothetical discussion into a real governance test.

According to reports by media outlets including Reuters and Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, Nvidia's board of directors held a meeting on the evening of November 11, Eastern Time, to discuss the future of founder and Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang. The board has also reportedly engaged an external executive search firm to look for potential successors and is considering appointing an interim leader before a permanent CEO is confirmed. Nvidia has not yet released the results of the meeting, nor has it officially confirmed any personnel decisions.

The crisis began on November 8, when Huang admitted to marital infidelity in an open letter to employees and apologized to his family, employees, the board, and shareholders. Subsequently, Nvidia's board established a committee of independent directors and hired outside counsel to investigate whether Huang had been the target of foreign intelligence operations and whether related contacts posed risks to national security, company secrets, or the governance system.

Including Wednesday's after-hours sell-off, the company has lost approximately $600 billion in market value this week since Nvidia's board announced an investigation into whether Huang had been targeted by foreign intelligence operations, indicating that investors are pricing in the possibility of leadership changes and heightened governance risks ahead of time.

Nvidia is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings on November 17, further compressing the board's time to manage the crisis. While the market was originally focused on GPU demand, gross margins, and progress on next-generation platforms, whether Huang will continue to host the earnings call and how management will address succession arrangements could now also become key variables swaying Nvidia's stock price.

Jensen Huang's Future Enters Board Decision Stage as Colette Kress May First Serve as Interim Head

As the board begins evaluating Jensen Huang's future at the company, who could step in to take over Nvidia if necessary has become a key question for the market. While Nvidia is not short of experienced executives, the company has yet to publicly designate a second-in-command capable of fully assuming Huang's responsibilities.

Huang simultaneously steers technical roadmaps, product definitions, client partnerships, supply chain coordination, and capital allocation. Nvidia's highly flat organizational structure—with dozens of business leaders reporting directly to him—boosted decision-making efficiency in the past, but it has also concentrated managerial power. In the absence of a traditional chief operating officer, any sudden leadership transition would require the board to redistribute the multifaceted responsibilities he currently shoulders.

Under the current circumstances, Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is viewed as the most likely candidate for interim CEO. According to media reports, several Nvidia directors favor having Kress temporarily take the helm should Huang step down. Having joined Nvidia in 2013, she has witnessed the company's full transformation from a gaming graphics card maker into an AI chip leader, and is intimately familiar with its financial condition, capital allocation, and investor expectations.

Fund manager and Niles Investment Management founder Dan Niles also believes a leadership change at Nvidia could occur soon. He stated that Huang's tenure may be nearing its end, with an exit announcement possible as early as tomorrow morning; should the board decide to replace the CEO, current CFO Kress is likely to serve as interim head. Niles also assessed that interim management might adopt a more conservative guidance strategy in upcoming earnings reports, setting lower performance hurdles for the coming quarters.

If the board's top priority is stabilizing market expectations and ensuring continuity in financial reporting, capital allocation, and client communications, Kress would be a natural choice for the transition.

Within the internal technical team, Ian Buck is another noteworthy contender. As an early developer of CUDA who currently oversees Nvidia's data center business, he possesses deep insight into the company's crucial hardware and software ecosystem as well as AI customer needs. If the board seeks to maintain a technology-driven leadership model, Buck may better align with long-term requirements than a functional executive.

Regarding external candidates, media reports indicate that Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji, is among the potential contenders being discussed. Srouji has long spearheaded Apple's in-house chip business, possessing extensive experience in semiconductor design, supply chain coordination, and large engineering team management. However, this report has not been confirmed by Nvidia or Apple, and any external executive, if hired, would still face challenges regarding corporate culture, customer relationships, and product roadmap transitions.

Why Jensen Huang Is Hard to Replace: Nvidia's Management System Relies Heavily on Founder

What sets Nvidia apart from many big tech companies is that Jensen Huang is not merely a CEO overseeing strategy and capital allocation, but a core figure deeply involved in product planning, technical decisions, and day-to-day operations.

Since co-founding Nvidia in 1993, Huang has served as the company's CEO and a member of its board of directors. He spearheaded Nvidia's transition from a graphics processor vendor to an accelerated computing platform company and drove the development of the CUDA ecosystem, gradually positioning the company as a core supplier for global AI infrastructure development.

This influence extends beyond the company itself. With the rise of generative AI, Nvidia's GPUs have become critical infrastructure for large-model training and inference. Tech giants such as Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOGL), and Meta (META) continue to ramp up data center investments, while cloud computing providers and emerging AI compute operators also rely heavily on Nvidia's chip supply.

Throughout this process, Huang has become a pivotal figure connecting chip suppliers, cloud providers, AI startups, and big tech companies. He has not only publicly defended AI infrastructure investments, but has also shaped market expectations for the AI industry's prospects through customer engagements, industry investments, and product launches.

According to reports, Nvidia maintains a remarkably flat management structure, with more than 60 executives reporting directly to Huang. While this arrangement allows him to quickly track progress across different business units, it also means a vast number of critical corporate decisions are concentrated in the hands of one person.

For Nvidia, this management style offers clear advantages during periods of rapid expansion. Huang can directly coordinate chip R&D, supply chains, product launches, and customer demand, reducing decision-making friction across departments. However, should he ever step down, the company would have to confront a pragmatic question: Who could simultaneously understand technology roadmaps, business models, customer needs, and the shifting dynamics of the global AI industry?

This lies at the heart of market concerns. While Nvidia has a massive R&D team and leadership bench, extensive management experience does not necessarily mean an executive can seamlessly succeed Huang. Over more than three decades at the company, Huang has built up technical acumen and customer relationships that cannot be easily transferred through a single executive appointment.

Jensen Huang Holds Only 3.58% Stake: Would His Departure Change Nvidia Control?

In addition to the management transition, Jensen Huang's shareholding structure is also an important reason this event has drawn attention.

According to Nvidia's 2026 annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as of March 23, 2026, Jensen Huang held approximately 870.6 million shares of Nvidia common stock, representing 3.58% of the company's outstanding shares. This stake is not sufficient to grant him absolute control based solely on his personal holdings.

Compared with tech companies such as Meta and Alphabet that adopt dual-class share structures, Nvidia does not ensure majority voting power for Jensen Huang through special founder voting rights. In other words, Huang's control over the company stems primarily from his status as CEO and co-founder, a long-established management system, and the board's and shareholders' recognition of his leadership, rather than a special equity structure.

However, Huang's actual shareholding arrangements are more complex than simple personal ownership figures. Nvidia's annual report shows that his holdings include family trust assets for which Huang and his wife, Lori Huang, serve as co-trustees, as well as shares held through other trusts, limited liability companies, and foundations. Certain shares involve shared beneficial ownership, voting power, or investment decision-making authority between the couple.

This means that if changes occur in the future regarding the Huangs' marriage or related trust arrangements, it could indeed trigger market attention concerning the ownership and voting arrangements of certain shares. However, it must be emphasized that there is currently no public evidence indicating that this event has led to changes in the couple's marital relationship, trust agreements, or Nvidia share voting arrangements. A dispute in a marital relationship also does not mean that the relevant shares would be immediately reallocated.

More importantly, Huang leaving the CEO position would not automatically result in a transfer of his Nvidia shares, nor does it mean that control of the company would change accordingly. The appointment and removal of a CEO is a corporate governance issue, whereas equity ownership depends on shareholding structures, trust agreements, and applicable laws, and the two cannot be conflated.