Nvidia’s board weighs replacing Jensen Huang, reports say

Nvidia’s board is preparing to remove CEO Jensen Huang, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Some directors favor naming Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim CEO if Huang is removed, Semafor reported. Kress has been Nvidia’s finance chief since 2013.

Huang has led Nvidia since co-founding it in 1993 and has said that more than 60 people report directly to him. He holds one seat on the 11-member board. Nvidia’s bylaws give a majority of sitting directors the power to remove a corporate officer, so six votes would be enough to remove him as CEO.

The board deliberations followed a New York Times report that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare, who reports directly to him. The Times cited five people who had worked at Nvidia. Huang ended the call when the newspaper asked him about Powell. Nvidia declined to provide a statement, and Powell did not immediately respond.

Days earlier, Huang told employees he had been unfaithful to his wife. Nvidia’s board had already opened an independent inquiry into whether he had been targeted by foreign intelligence.

Nvidia opens spy probe as Jensen Huang admits to an affair

Nvidia is investigating whether Jensen Huang was targeted by foreign intelligence after reports linked him to a former executive at one of its chip customers.

Durov˙s CodeDaria Ivanova

Nvidia shares fell 8.6% in after-hours trading on Wednesday as reports of a possible leadership change circulated.