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After 33 years at the helm, Jensen Huang is no longer CEO of Nvidia. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is leading the company on an interim basis, and the search for a permanent successor is now officially underway. For Apple, the question remains whether Johny Srouji's name will continue to be mentioned in the process.
Nvidia announced the resignation of its co-founder on November 12th. According to Nvidia's statement, Jensen Huang is stepping down from his roles as President and CEO, as well as his seat on the Board of Directors, effective immediately.
Among the names previously mentioned as potential successors to Huang was Apple's hardware chief, Johny Srouji. With his resignation, speculation has turned into an official search.
Key Takeaways
- Jensen Huang has resigned as President, CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Nvidia, effective immediately.
- Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will lead Nvidia on an interim basis while remaining CFO.
- Harvey C. Jones will be the first chairman of the board of directors in Nvidia's history.
- The board of directors is seeking a permanent CEO and is considering both internal and external candidates.
- Johny Srouji continues to be mentioned in reports, and US President Trump has also brought Tim Cook into the picture.
What Nvidia has announced
Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO and retain her duties as CFO until a permanent successor is appointed. She has been with Nvidia since September 2013 and previously held finance positions at technology companies for almost 25 years, including Cisco and Microsoft.
Kress announced plans to build on the foundation laid by Huang over 33 years. Harvey C. Jones, who has served on the board since 1993 and previously led Synopsys, is the new chairman of the board. Nvidia has never had such a chairman before.
A detail omitted from the press release comes from the mandatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission: The board of directors accepted Huang's resignation on November 11, appointed Jones as chairman on the same day, and subsequently designated Kress as interim CEO. Both of these actions were only made public the following day.
How it happened
On November 8, Huang admitted to an affair in a message to employees. According to the New York Times, US intelligence agencies believe the woman to be a Chinese informant. The board of directors launched an independent investigation and initially expressed its confidence in Huang. On November 11, the New York Times reported on a second affair involving an Nvidia executive who reported to Huang. That same evening, the board met to discuss his future.
The statement does not reveal the findings of the investigation. Information regarding a severance payment or any further role Huang may have played is also missing.
Where Srouji is now
For the permanent appointment, the board of directors is reviewing internal and external candidates. Nvidia is not disclosing any names. Srouji's name came from a Semafor report, which relied on a source familiar with the matter; Bloomberg also included him in a list of potential successors. Following his resignation, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz listed him, along with Nvidia's Michael Kagan, among the executives whose names have been mentioned as possible replacements.
The only new information provided is that the search function exists. Whether Nvidia approached Srouji is not clear from any of the reports. Srouji has been with Apple since 2008 and, as Chief Hardware Officer since April, is responsible for all hardware development in addition to chips.
A proposal from the White House
In the afternoon, German time, US President Donald Trump commented on Truth Social. He praised Huang for his work and wrote that there was only one person who could take his place: Tim Cook. He concluded his post with the sentence, „A legend replacing a legend!“.
The article doesn't specify whether Trump spoke with Cook or with Nvidia. Nvidia's board of directors decides on the appointment. Furthermore, Cook is no longer Apple's CEO, but rather Executive Chairman, as of September 1st; John Ternus has taken over the leadership role. According to Apple, Cook's new responsibilities include maintaining contact with political decision-makers worldwide.
Why the interim solution buys time
I believe the solution with Kress buys time. Having a CFO as an interim solution gives the board of directors time to also consider candidates who would first have to be negotiated out of their current positions. That would be precisely the case with Srouji.
That his name is being mentioned doesn't surprise me. Srouji joined Apple in 2008 to lead the development of the A4, Apple's first in-house designed chip, and later spearheaded the Mac's transition to Apple's own chips. Anyone at Nvidia looking for a successor with technical credibility can hardly ignore this career path. As early as 2019, he was reportedly considered a candidate for the top job at Intel, but he stayed with Apple.
Nevertheless, I don't expect Srouji to leave Apple. In December 2025, when he was considering a move, Apple, according to Bloomberg, tried to retain him with a higher salary and greater responsibility. In April, he was promoted to Chief Hardware Officer: since then, in addition to chips, he has also been responsible for hardware development, previously headed by Ternus, including cellular modems, cameras, displays, sensors, and batteries. The new top management structure at Apple has only been in place for a little over ten weeks, and Srouji's role encompasses both chips and device hardware. His departure now would hit Apple significantly harder than it would have a year ago.
The next opportunity to learn more about Nvidia's plans is the presentation of the quarterly figures on November 17th at around 10:20 pm German time; the conference call begins at 11 pm.
Do you think Nvidia will ultimately bring in someone from outside, or will an internal solution prevail? Let us know in the comments who you expect to see at the top of Nvidia.
