What happened
Nvidia’s board said Thursday that Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive officer and a member of the board, effective immediately. The announcement is in a company release titled “NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition.”
Huang co-founded the company 33 years ago and, as CNBC put it, built it into a $4 trillion company at the center of the artificial-intelligence boom. Nvidia thanked him for those contributions and did not name a permanent successor.
Colette Kress, Nvidia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, has agreed to serve as interim CEO. She will keep the CFO role while she serves as interim chief until a permanent successor is named. The board said it is starting a search and will consider internal and external candidates.
The board also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair. Jones is a former chief executive and executive chairman of Synopsys. CNBC reported that he has been on Nvidia’s board since 1993.
Timeline of the morning
These are the times from Nvidia’s posted release and from the morning news alerts, all in Eastern Time on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. Alert times can differ by a minute or two depending on the feed.
- GlobeNewswire timestamps Nvidia’s release, “NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition.”
- CNBC flashes that Huang has resigned as CEO.
- Reuters reports that Huang has resigned as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately.
- Bloomberg reports that the board ousted him. Nvidia’s own language is that he resigned.
Nvidia also posted the same release in its newsroom. The U.S. stock market opens at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Who runs Nvidia now
Interim CEO: Colette Kress joined Nvidia in September 2013 as chief financial officer and has led the finance organization since then. Nvidia said that before she joined, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at companies including Cisco and Microsoft. CNBC reported that she also holds a finance degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. She will serve as both interim CEO and CFO until a permanent chief executive is named.
Board chair: Harvey C. Jones becomes the board’s first chair. Nvidia described him as an entrepreneur, technology executive and venture investor for more than 30 years, including service as CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys.
The search: The board said it is looking for a permanent CEO and will consider internal and external candidates. In the release, Jones said the board has “full confidence in Colette and the leadership team” and that it expects “the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.”
“NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” Kress said in the release. “We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead.”
The board also said: “Jensen’s contributions to NVIDIA are profound. NVIDIA is one of the most consequential technology companies in the world. The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”
Why the board acted
Nvidia’s release does not give a reason for the departure. It says Huang resigned. Bloomberg reported that the board ousted him. Those are two ways of describing the same morning; we are presenting both, and we are not treating Bloomberg’s wording as Nvidia’s official language.
The move follows days of public scrutiny. CNBC reported that Huang apologized on Sunday for being “unfaithful to my wife,” in connection with reports of a relationship with a businesswoman who has worked for Megaspeed, which CNBC described as a Chinese company and Nvidia customer. CNBC, citing the New York Times, also reported a second relationship involving an Nvidia executive. Huang has denied allegations that he compromised national security or Nvidia secrets, CNBC reported.
CNBC also reported that Nvidia’s board said on Tuesday it had hired the law firm Wachtell Lipton to investigate intelligence allegations, and that members of Congress have said they intend to look into matters related to Nvidia.
This page does not repeat unverified claims about espionage. Those reports remain allegations, and Nvidia’s release does not address them.
Market reaction
U.S. stocks had not yet opened when this page was updated. The figures below are premarket prices from Yahoo Finance, compared with Wednesday’s regular-session close, as of 9:13 a.m. ET, unless noted. Premarket prices move quickly and can change before the 9:30 a.m. ET open.
| Ticker | Premarket | Wed. close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia (NVDA) | $153.45 | $173.73 | ↓ 11.7% |
| AMD (AMD) | $552.72 | $552.90 | flat |
| Broadcom (AVGO) | $350.34 | $345.22 | ↑ 1.5% |
| TSMC ADR (TSM) | $393.93 | $413.35 | ↓ 4.7% |
| Nebius (NBIS) | $124.42 | $154.69 | ↓ 19.6% |
| S&P 500 ETF (SPY) | $754.47 | $759.81 | ↓ 0.7% |
| Nasdaq-100 ETF (QQQ) | $680.62 | $690.38 | ↓ 1.4% |
| S&P 500 futures (ES) | 7,594.25 | 7,640.50* | ↓ 0.6% |
| Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ) | 28,122.25 | 28,473.25* | ↓ 1.2% |
| Dow futures (YM) | 52,524 | 52,578* | ↓ 0.1% |
Earlier in the morning, at 8:57 a.m. ET, also from Yahoo Finance, Nvidia was at $156.32, down 10.0%. At that same time, AMD was at $566.53, up 2.5%; Broadcom was at $353.57, up 2.4%; TSMC’s U.S. shares were at $398.75, down 3.5%; and Nebius was at $126.99, down 17.9%. By 9:13 a.m. ET, Nvidia’s decline had deepened, AMD’s early gain had faded to about unchanged, and Broadcom was still higher, though by less than at 8:57.
CNBC reported that, as of Wednesday’s close, Nvidia shares were down about 7% this year and had fallen behind Apple among the world’s largest companies. We have not independently calculated a current market value after this morning’s premarket drop.
What it means for the AI trade and everyday investors
Huang was the public face of the AI boom. CNBC noted that Nvidia has been a technology supplier, customer, investor, financier and partner to scores of AI companies, so a leadership change there can ripple across the sector. That is one reason names tied to Nvidia, including Nebius, were sharply lower in premarket trading, while some rivals, including Broadcom, were bid.
For everyday investors, the move can show up even if you do not own Nvidia shares directly. Nvidia is one of the largest companies in major U.S. indexes, so a large decline can pull down S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 funds. This morning, the S&P 500 ETF was down 0.7% and the Nasdaq-100 ETF was down 1.4% in premarket trading as of 9:13 a.m. ET.
None of this is a recommendation to buy or sell any stock or fund. Leadership changes of this size often bring a period of uncertainty: who becomes the permanent CEO, whether strategy or capital spending changes, and how customers and partners respond. Those questions may not be answered today.
What to watch next
- Tuesday, Nov. 17 earnings. Nvidia said it will still report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results at about 1:20 p.m. PT (4:20 p.m. ET), as previously scheduled, followed by its earnings call at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET). It will be the first call with Kress as interim CEO.
- The CEO search. Watch for any shortlist, a timeline, or a choice between an internal and an external candidate. Nvidia has not named either.
- Follow-up from the board and from Washington. CNBC reported that the board had hired Wachtell Lipton and that members of Congress have said they intend to look into matters related to Nvidia. Any official update from Nvidia, the board or Congress would be new information.
- Today’s open. Premarket moves can change once regular trading begins at 9:30 a.m. ET. This page will need a later update for the first-hour tape.
Sources
- NVIDIA, “NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition,” Nov. 12, 2026: nvidianews.nvidia.com
- NVIDIA / GlobeNewswire, same release, timestamped 8:48 a.m. ET: globenewswire.com
- CNBC, “Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns, Colette Kress named interim chief: Live updates,” updated Nov. 12, 2026: cnbc.com
- Reuters, as carried by CTV News (Reuters byline; published 8:57 a.m. ET, updated 9:03 a.m. ET): ctvnews.ca; and by Business Standard (Reuters byline): business-standard.com. A stable reuters.com story URL could not be confirmed at the time this page was prepared.
- Bloomberg’s 8:55 a.m. ET report that the board ousted Huang, as received in this morning’s wire alerts. A stable public bloomberg.com article URL could not be confirmed at the time this page was prepared, so no guessed link is included.
- Yahoo Finance, premarket and futures quotes, retrieved 8:57 a.m. ET and 9:13 a.m. ET (futures as of 9:03 a.m. ET), Nov. 12, 2026.
Not financial advice. This article is for information and education only. It is not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell any securities, and it is not investment, financial, legal or tax advice.