Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns after affair scandal

Detailed summary

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has resigned after his affair raised national security concerns. The company named Colette Kress as interim chief executive. She is the current…

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has resigned after his extramarital affair raised national security concerns.

The company named Colette Kress as interim chief executive. She is the current executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Huang faced growing calls to resign after his affair with an alleged Chinese spy. Late Wednesday (US time), media reports said Huang had another extramarital affair with an Nvidia employee who reports to him.

The board of directors said on Thursday it also named its first-ever chairman, Harvey C. Jones, an entrepreneur and venture investor.

Shares of Nvidia, one of the largest companies in the world, plunged 10 per cent in premarket trading Thursday (US time).

Nvidia’s board had gathered to discuss Huang’s future after revelations that he was having an affair with a former Megaspeed executive suspected of being a Chinese government agent. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Huang also had an affair with an Nvidia executive who reported to him. The Associated Press could not independently confirm those reports.

In its first statement since the scandal broke, Singapore-headquartered Megaspeed International said on Thursday that it takes its obligation to comply with US export control laws “extremely seriously”.

Details about Huang’s affair with the former Megaspeed executive are unclear.

“Megaspeed is committed to working constructively and transparently with the US government,” said the statement signed by its chairman and chief executive, Tan Yong Pong, who also goes by James Tan.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Sydney Morning Herald. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.