Nvidia board prepares to oust CEO Jensen Huang over affairs
The board is reportedly seeking a successor following allegations of extramarital affairs and concerns regarding Chinese espionage.
Nvidia Corp. is preparing to remove its co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang from his position, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Hindustan Times. The board of directors is reportedly working with an external firm to find a successor and is considering appointing an interim CEO.
The move follows Huang's admission to an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International. Megaspeed is a major Southeast Asian customer for Nvidia. The New York Times reported that Huang also had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of healthcare.
Concerns have been raised regarding whether these relationships compromised the security of the company's technical data. Alice Huang has been suspected by the US of being a Chinese intelligence agent, though the Chinese government has dismissed these allegations. Megaspeed and Nvidia have denied any wrongdoing.
The potential exit of the 63-year-old CEO comes as Nvidia dominates the artificial intelligence chip market. Following the disclosure of the situation, Nvidia shares fell approximately 8 per cent in extended trading to $159.95 on Wednesday.
The company has not made an official announcement regarding the leadership changes and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.