Comment: Affair with the supplier – why Nvidia boss Huang is still allowed to stay

In almost any US company, Jensen Huang would have been fired long ago. The codes of conduct state clearly: any relationship with a person who works for a supplier or customer must be reported.

There is no Puritan zeal behind this, but rather a plausible consideration. The connection can lead to conflicts of interest, and anyone who hides it will lose their job. Like Ashley Buchanan in 2024: The boss of Kohl's concealed an affair with a consultant whose coffee company supplied the US department store chain.

At the chip manufacturer Nvidia, the clock ticks differently. The company unconditionally supports its founder, who has been running the business for 33 years and had an affair with the boss of his supplier Megaspeed. Anyone who looks at Nvidia's board of directors will understand the benevolence better: There is no chairman, Huang can rule, and many of the members have been on the board for decades.

No wonder ISS is giving Nvidia its thumbs down. The US voting rights advisor rates the chip manufacturer's corporate governance an eight on a scale of one to ten, on which a high number reflects a structure that is risky for the shareholder.