ISTANBUL – Nvidia announced on Thursday that Jensen Huang had resigned as president, chief executive officer and board member with immediate effect, amid an independent investigation into reports that he had been targeted in a foreign intelligence operation, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was appointed interim CEO and will retain her existing responsibilities while the board considers internal and external candidates for a permanent successor.
The chipmaker also appointed former Synopsys chief executive Harvey C. Jones as its first board chairman.
Jones expressed confidence in Kress and the leadership team, saying the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap would continue without disruption.
Kress, who joined Nvidia in 2013, pledged to build on the foundation Huang had established over 33 years.
The company thanked Huang for his contributions but did not specify the reason for his resignation.
His departure followed the board's announcement on Nov 8 that it had launched an independent investigation. At the time, the directors expressed confidence in Huang and said they had no reason to believe that US national security or company secrets had been compromised.
Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife in a message to employees on the same day and pledged to cooperate with the inquiry.
On Tuesday, the independent directors appointed former acting US Attorney Joon H. Kim and law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the investigation. –BERNAMA