Colette Kress, Nvidia’s longtime finance chief who has been named the company’s interim CEO following Jensen Huang’s resignation on Thursday, once described the chipmaker as the smallest company she had ever worked for.
In a 2022 interview with Fortune, Kress spoke about joining Nvidia in September 2013 and how the company had changed since then. “When I started at Nvidia, it was the smallest company that I’d ever worked for. It’s gotten quite large, but the focus is on how do you think about the future and make sure we’re ready for it to scale?” she said.
Kress also spoke about the challenges of managing a rapidly growing company, particularly the need to transform existing processes and digitise manual operations. She said Nvidia’s fast growth had made this a key priority for its finance organisation and other departments.
Kress on her career as a CFO
During the Fortune interview, Kress was also asked whether she had always wanted to become a chief financial officer.
{{/usCountry}}During the Fortune interview, Kress was also asked whether she had always wanted to become a chief financial officer.
{{/usCountry}}“No, actually. I think honestly, throughout my career, I was just always fascinated by somebody else’s role. And sometimes that was my boss’ role. So, it worked more in that manner than waking up as a child and saying, ‘I want to be a CFO.’ I just get excited about learning new things,” she said.
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Colette Kress replaces Jensen Huang as interim CEO
Kress was named interim CEO on Thursday after Jensen Huang stepped down with immediate effect, bringing his 33-year tenure at the company to an end. He stepped down as president, CEO and board member following revelations that he had two extramarital affairs, one of which involved a woman accused of spying for China.
Nvidia’s board said it has initiated a search for a permanent CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates.
Kress has served as Nvidia’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since joining the company in September 2013. Before that, she spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at major technology companies, including Cisco, Microsoft and Texas Instruments.
In a press note following her appointment, Kress said she was committed to building on the foundation laid by Jensen Huang over the past 33 years and continuing Nvidia’s work in accelerated computing and artificial intelligence.
“NVIDIA’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” Kress said.
“We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders,” she added.