Jensen Huang has resigned as chief executive of Nvidia after revelations of workplace misconduct and national security concerns tied to a suspected foreign intelligence asset, plunging the world's most valuable technology company into turmoil.
The abrupt departure of the man who built Nvidia into the undisputed epicenter of the artificial intelligence boom sent shares tumbling 13 percent in early trading on Thursday. The stock dropped more than 11 percent in pre-market trading and hovered down between 4 and 5 percent by late morning, capping a cumulative slide of up to 19 percent since late last week.
Nvidia announced that Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will serve as interim chief executive while keeping her finance role during the search for a permanent successor. Kress has been with the company since 2013. Simultaneously, the board appointed venture capitalist Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair. Jones has served on the board since the company's founding in 1993. Huang, who owned about 3.6 percent of the stock and had no official board chair above him for decades, has left the board entirely.
The leadership crisis follows explosive reports that Huang engaged in two extramarital affairs.
