Jim Cramer has a strong take on Nvidia's next chapter

Detailed summary

Nvidia is entering unfamiliar territory, and the decisions made in the coming weeks could carry lasting consequences.

For the first time in 33 years, Nvidia is being run by someone other than Jensen Huang, and some of the loudest voices in the market are already lining up behind the person filling his seat.

Jim Cramer, Ross Gerber, Daniel Newman, and Kevin O'Leary have all voiced support for interim CEO Colette Kress as the chipmaker enters a new chapter.

That backing arrives at a shaky moment. Nvidia shares fell more than 13% at the open and were down about 5% by the time trading settled on Nov. 12, the day the company confirmed Huang's departure.

The big question now is whether Kress can steady the world's most closely watched AI company until the board settles on a permanent leader.

Cramer had already warned investors to prepare for a future without Huang, but once the resignation landed, his view shifted to backing the person now in the seat.

Cramer did not hold back. Speaking on CNBC, he described Kress as a tough, "no-nonsense" executive who "runs with a steel fist." He added that "she is absolutely the one you need right now" because she commands authority and has no patience for nonsense.

His view is shaped by years of dealing with her directly. Cramer noted that Kress has led Nvidia's earnings conference calls and has been his main contact at the company, alongside Huang, for a long time.

Kress brings a long record to the job. She has been Nvidia's chief financial officer since September 2013 and held senior finance roles at Texas Instruments, Microsoft, and Cisco before that.

She also holds a finance degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. During her time as CFO, Nvidia's yearly revenue grew from about $4 billion to more than $200 billion, as reported by Al Jazeera.

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