Reed’s view
Nvidia got caught without a succession plan for CEO Jensen Huang, but it wasn’t for lack of trying, according to people briefed on the effort to hire a replacement. Before the 63-year-old founder was ousted, the company did try to hire an external number two, according to a person familiar with the search. It was difficult to find candidates, though, because none wanted to work in Huang’s shadow.
The Huang hangover might still be a problem even after he’s gone. There’s a Slack group at the company, for instance, titled “Stand with Jensen,” and people familiar with the search process estimate there are fewer than 10 people in the world truly capable of running the company.
The next Nvidia CEO doesn’t just have to keep its own products shipping on time. The person who takes the top job also has to keep the entire industry alive. There’s really no replacing him.
Notable
Several names have been floated for who could replace Huang, including Apple’s hardware chief Johny Srouji, Arm CEO Rene Haas, or even, on President Donald Trump’s suggestion, former Apple CEO Tim Cook.
