With Jensen Huang under pressure, Nvidia finds itself with no succession plan

With Jensen Huang under pressure, Nvidia finds itself with no succession plan

Holding the position of co-founder, president and chief executive, Jensen Huang has about 60 executives reporting directly to him and has said himself he does not believe in succession planning.

When reports of an espionage plot against Nvidia's Jensen Huang first emerged, the company stood by their chief executive.

Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo released a statement saying Mr Huang was committed to keep leading the firm "without interruption".

Before its probe into Mr Huang's romantic relationship with a suspected Chinese spy was even underway, Nvidia said it had "no reason to believe" either US national security or company secrets had been compromised.

Two days later, Nvidia's board is reportedly meeting to decide whether to oust Mr Huang.

Overnight, the New York Times reported he had a second extra-marital affair with Nvidia executive Kimberly Powell, the company's vice-president of health care, who also reported to him.

This week, shares in the multi-trillion-dollar tech giant tumbled, while Nvidia and Mr Huang have faced a ‌proposed class action accusing them ‌of ⁠defrauding ‌shareholders.

But what is perhaps most extraordinary is that Nvidia has no obvious successor to Mr Huang, who has run the company since it was created 33 years ago.

Holding the position of co-founder, president and chief executive, Mr Huang has created an unusually flat corporate structure with about 60 executives reporting directly to him.

He told the Wall Street Journal he did not believe in succession planning — despite his family being woven into the company's fabric.

In brief

When reports of an espionage plot against Nvidia's Jensen Huang first emerged, the company stood by their chief executive. Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo released a statement saying Mr Huang was committed to keep leading the firm "without interruption". Two days later, Nvidia's board is reportedly meeting to decide whether to oust Mr Huang. This week, shares in the multi-trillion-dollar tech giant tumbled, while Nvidia and Mr Huang have faced a ‌proposed class action accusing them ‌of ⁠defrauding ‌shareholders.

This is the opening of the story, shared with credit to ABC News Australia. The rest of the report — with every detail — continues on the publisher’s website.

Continue reading at ABC News Australia ↗

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