November 12 update: Jensen Huang resigns and Colette Kress takes interim role
Nvidia announced on November 12 that co-founder Jensen Huang had resigned as president, chief executive officer and a member of the board, effective immediately. The board appointed Colette Kress interim CEO. She will also remain executive vice president and chief financial officer while the board considers internal and external candidates for the permanent job. The directors appointed Harvey C. Jones as Nvidia’s first board chair. Nvidia gave no timetable for naming a permanent chief executive.
The transition announcement did not disclose findings from the board inquiry. Huang acknowledged infidelity in a November 8 message without identifying a partner. Reports about a separate relationship and the disputed intelligence allegation remain separate from that acknowledgment. The shareholder complaint remains a proposed class action.
Separately, Megaspeed said on November 12 that it had cooperated with U.S. Commerce Department inspections and was prepared to work with other relevant U.S. authorities, Reuters reported, citing a statement from Megaspeed chairman and CEO James Tan Yong Pong. The company’s statement did not establish an outcome for any export-control investigation.
Nvidia’s CEO transition announcement · Reuters on Megaspeed’s statement
Nvidia’s board has opened an independent investigation into whether chief executive Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. Huang separately acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and apologized to his family. His statement did not identify the other person. China denies the intelligence allegation, which Reuters said it could not independently verify. Reuters · Associated Press
Nvidia board weighs Jensen Huang’s future
Nvidia’s board was meeting on November 11 to decide whether to remove Chief Executive Jensen Huang, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal had reported that the board was preparing to oust him. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment and had yet to announce a decision as of Wednesday evening.
Separately, The New York Times reported that Huang had an affair with an Nvidia executive who reported to him, citing five people who worked at the company. Huang acknowledged in a November 8 message to employees that he had been unfaithful. The message did not identify anyone or address the second allegation.
Nvidia’s independent directors said on November 10 that they had retained former acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim and his law firm to conduct the previously announced inquiry into reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
The company announced the inquiry on November 8 after reporting by The New York Times linked Huang to Alice Huang, a businesswoman associated with Singapore-based cloud computing company Megaspeed. The Times reported that U.S. authorities had concluded she was a Chinese intelligence asset. Reuters attributed that assertion to the Times and said it could not verify it independently. The two are unrelated. Reuters also said it could not locate Alice Huang to seek comment for its November 10 profile. Reuters profile
Nvidia said it had no reason to believe national security information or company trade secrets had been compromised. A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, is overseeing the review. Reuters reported that Jensen Huang supported the inquiry and would cooperate. The company’s statement describes what it believed when it announced the review. A later report from the board could clarify which questions investigators examined, what evidence they reviewed and whether any company policies need to change.
What Huang acknowledged and why the board is involved
Huang’s acknowledgment was personal. The corporate inquiry concerns whether someone sought to use access to the chief executive for an intelligence purpose and whether any sensitive information was exposed. One question can be answered without resolving the other. A public apology for infidelity does not identify a partner, establish another person’s motives or show that confidential material changed hands. Evidence about conversations, company records or access to sensitive information would be needed to make those determinations.
There is also a governance question about how Nvidia manages outside relationships when a person involved has business ties to the company. A board review can examine what executives disclosed internally, how the company assessed any conflict and whether decisions about a customer or partner followed its normal procedures. Those are questions for investigators. The public announcement did not establish that Huang influenced a transaction, breached an internal policy or shared restricted material.
China’s foreign ministry rejected the intelligence allegation on November 9. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun dismissed the account as unsubstantiated when asked about Nvidia’s investigation at a regular briefing. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the FBI was looking into the matter, Reuters reported. His statement did not provide details about the scope or status of any federal review. The board’s investigation is a company process with a distinct purpose and should be tracked separately from any action by U.S. authorities.
Why Megaspeed is part of the story
Reuters reviewed more than 30 financial records, corporate filings and company materials for its profile of Alice Huang. The records traced her career from senior roles in Chinese finance to a controlling shareholding in Megaspeed International. Reuters also reported that Nvidia listed Megaspeed in its cloud partner directory. That commercial connection explains why the story has drawn attention from lawmakers and investors beyond the chief executive’s private life.
Megaspeed had drawn scrutiny over whether it helped Chinese customers obtain advanced Nvidia chips subject to U.S. export controls. Reuters reported that shipping records showed the firm’s Indonesian subsidiary imported Nvidia hardware, including H100 processors and related components, between 2024 and 2026. Those records establish reported shipments to Indonesia. They do not establish where the equipment ultimately went or whether a transfer violated U.S. rules. Reuters reported no public finding of a violation by Megaspeed in its November 10 profile.
The Financial Times reported on November 11 that the U.S. Commerce Department had delayed adding Megaspeed to the Entity List, an export-control mechanism that can impose licensing restrictions. The newspaper also reported that Nvidia said it had independently blocked further sales and shipments to Megaspeed in June 2025. The date places Nvidia’s stated commercial action before the current board inquiry. The reported delay is a separate development from any final decision on listing the company. Financial Times
Congressional scrutiny and a shareholder lawsuit
On November 4, House lawmakers asked Huang to appear for a joint closed-door briefing. Their letter sought information about his interactions with Alice Huang and Nvidia’s safeguards against foreign espionage. A request for a briefing is an oversight step. The letter establishes what lawmakers asked the company to address, while any response or testimony would be a separate addition to the record. House committee letter
On November 9, shareholders filed a proposed class action against Nvidia and Huang in federal court in San Jose, California. Reuters reported that the plaintiffs accuse the defendants of misleading investors by withholding information about Huang’s alleged ties and the risks they say those ties created for the company. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages. The complaint states their allegations, and the request to proceed as a class is distinct from a court granting that status. Reuters said Nvidia did not immediately respond to its request for comment on the lawsuit. Reuters on the proposed class action
Reuters reported that Nvidia shares closed down 4.3% on November 9 and that the complaint was filed after the market closed. The chronology matters because the day’s closing price preceded the filing. The share move records what happened in trading. It cannot determine whether the underlying allegations are true or how much of the decline investors attributed to any single development.
What could change the account
A substantive board update could establish what the investigation covered and whether it found a compromise of information or a violation of company policy. A formal filing or statement by a U.S. agency could clarify the status of any government review. Court records could show how Nvidia and Huang respond to the shareholder allegations and whether the case proceeds. A public Commerce Department decision could also resolve whether Megaspeed will face new restrictions. Each would answer a different question and warrants its own attribution and date.
As of November 11, the record establishes that Huang acknowledged infidelity, Nvidia announced an independent board inquiry, China rejected the intelligence allegation, and shareholders filed a complaint. The possible link between the personal relationship and an intelligence effort remains disputed. The public-interest issue is whether the inquiry establishes any impact on Nvidia’s handling of confidential information, commercial relationships or disclosures to investors.
Featured file photo: Jensen Huang, May 2024. Peter Dasilva / European Union, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Cropped from the original.
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