Nvidia, Huang has resigned. In her place is deputy Kress. The stock collapses on Wall Street

Nvidia CEO Jenesn Huang resigned following the revelation of two extramarital affairs, including one with a top Chinese executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company, suspected of being a Chinese spy. The board of the world's leading microchip company announced this in a note. The resignation takes effect immediately and applies to all top positions held by Huang, who also left the board of the chip manufacturing company he co-founded 33 years ago, making it a giant with over 5 trillion in stock market capitalisation, and giving a decisive boost to the artificial intelligence boom by leading negotiations along the entire AI supply chain.

The collapse of the stock on the stock market

The news of Huang's departure, which deprives the AI sector of its greatest exponent, caused Nvidia's shares to collapse on Wall Street. Shares had fallen about 5% before the open on Monday, Nov. 9, to around $177, after the board launched an independent investigation into Huang's relationship with an executive who U.S. intelligence said had been gathering information about him on behalf of Beijing. On Tuesday, the decline worsened to more than 6%, also due to the lawsuit for fraud against shareholders filed against the group and its number one in the federal court of San Jose. Yesterday the stock had recovered, along with the rest of the sector, in the wake of CoreWeave's positive accounts. Investors are now looking at the third quarter accounts, expected on Monday 17 November.

Colette Kress becomes interim CEO

Colette Kress, current executive vice president and CFO, will replace Huang on an interim basis. Kress, we read in the company note, "will continue to perform the functions of executive vice president and chief financial officer while serving as interim chief executive officer until the appointment of a permanent successor". In this regard, “the board of directors is initiating a search for a permanent CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates.” Kress has been vice president and CFO since she joined the company in September 2013. Previously, she worked for 13 years at Microsoft and as a finance leader within Cisco's business technology and operations finance unit. The CNBC website states that he earned a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Arizona and a master's degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University.

Kress: "Huang's contribution was profound"

"During her tenure she led the company's financial organization and played a key role in the growth and evolution of Nvidia. Colette helped lead Nvidia through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, our customers, our operations and our financial condition," said Harvey Jones, chairman of the board of Nvidia. “The board has full confidence in Colette and the management team and we expect the company's operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue uninterrupted,” he continued. “Nvidia's strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to continuing to build on the extraordinary foundation Jensen has created over the past 33 years,” Kress said. As for Huang, "his contributions to Nvidia have been profound," the Board emphasized in the note, "the board of directors and the company thank him for his invaluable contributions to the company and the entire industry."