Nvidia's Board Weighs Life After Jensen Huang: The Successor Shortlist

Nvidia's board is reportedly meeting to discuss replacing Jensen Huang as chief executive, after reports of extramarital affairs — one of them with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy — put the co-founder at the centre of a major scandal.

Until very recently, a future without Huang was a scenario few would have considered. He co-founded the chipmaker more than three decades ago and built it into the world's second most valuable company, behind only Apple. Finding someone to fill that chair is the challenge now facing the board.

So who are the names in the frame?

What does the finance chief offer?

Colette Kress, Nvidia's chief financial officer and executive vice president, has been tipped as the candidate who could steady the ship in the interim — and possibly stop the share price from plunging even further.

Kress brings more than 30 years in the industry, with senior positions at Cisco and Microsoft before Nvidia. She has watched the firm transform itself from a maker of chips for video games in the early 1990s into an AI semiconductor powerhouse.

She "fronts every earnings call" alongside Huang and is a "familiar and trusted voice for the market at a time when it badly needs one," said Josh Gilbert, an analyst at investment firm eToro.

The permanent job could be a different story. Gilbert noted that Nvidia, a firm known for its technological edge, might want an engineer in the chair instead.

Who are the internal engineering candidates?

Chris Malachowsky, who founded Nvidia alongside Huang and Curtis Priem, is the only executive at the company who shares Huang's level of seniority. He has played a key part in developing Nvidia's computing technology.

Ian Buck, who oversees the firm's high-performance computing business, has also emerged as a contender if the board wants an engineer at the top. Buck was among the early pioneers who helped popularise the use of graphics processors beyond gaming applications — the foundation of the AI business Nvidia runs today.

"He could protect Nvidia's technological edge, but his ability to manage the wider commercial relationships and geopolitical challenges would face scrutiny," said Charu Chanana, investment strategist at investment bank Saxo.

Nvidia's processors are widely regarded as the gold standard for AI development right now — precisely the asset a successor would need to defend.

Huang's children also work at Nvidia in executive positions, but they are relatively young and inexperienced, making them unlikely candidates for now.

Could Nvidia look outside the company?

Nvidia would likely favour an internal appointment at first, but could look externally for a more permanent replacement, said Jun Bei Liu, founder and lead portfolio manager at Ten Cap.

Liu floated Apple's former chief executive Tim Cook as a possible choice, given his familiarity with managing global supply chains — a critical skill, since Nvidia's processors are made with the help of chipmakers around the world, including Taiwan's TSMC, South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung. She did question whether Cook would be willing to leave the iPhone maker, where he serves as chair.

Liu and Chanana both suggested Rene Haas, chief executive of UK chipmaking giant Arm Holdings. Haas knows how to lead a publicly listed company and would bring semiconductor experience — though Chanana noted that Nvidia's business model is considerably different from Arm's.

"The challenge is finding someone who can combine Jensen's technical understanding, strategic vision and relationships across the global technology industry," Liu said.

What's the so-what?

The board's decision carries more than symbolic weight. Nvidia sits at the centre of the global AI buildout, and any succession — interim or permanent — will be judged first by the market's reaction to the name. Kress offers continuity, Buck and Malachowsky offer technical depth, and the external candidates offer scale. The hard part, as Liu put it, is finding one person who combines all three.