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Nvidia board working with outside firm to identify CEO Jensen Huang's replacements after reports of multiple affairs: Report
The board is considering naming a temporary chief while searching for a permanent one, a person familiar with the situation said.
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Amid reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has had multiple extramarital affairs, including one with an alleged Chinese spy, the tech giant's board has been working with an outside firm to identify potential successors as it prepares to meet as early as Wednesday (local time) to decide Huang's future at the company.
The board is considering naming a temporary chief while searching for a permanent one, a person familiar with the situation said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public, Bloomberg reported.
This comes after Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair with a woman suspected by the United States of being a Chinese spy. Huang's admission came in an email to Nvidia employees on Sunday after the company launched an internal probe.
Deep Dive
Earlier on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Huang had an affair with a company executive who reported directly to him. The newspaper identified the executive as Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, citing five people who had worked at the company.
Directors are likely to meet on Wednesday (local time) to discuss Huang’s fate at the company, according to people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg reported. The Wall Street Journal said earlier that the board was preparing to oust Huang, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Nvidia didn’t immediately respond to WSJ's request for comment.
The White House will not intervene in Nvidia board’s decision on Huang, Washington Post reported.
Nvidia faces succession crisis
Nvidia’s board has been facing a succession crisis since Sunday when Huang admitted that he’d had an affair with Alice Huang, an executive at Asian technology firm Megaspeed International. She has been suspected of operating as an agent on behalf of the Chinese government. US intelligence officials have said Alice facilitated shipments of Nvidia chips to Chinese companies.
The disclosure and subsequent reports have left the board with a difficult option – remove Jensen Huang, Nvidia's founder and only CEO in its history, who has enjoyed strong support from shareholders and customers, and overseen a more than 700,000% rise in the company's share price.
But keeping him in the role could expose Nvidia to intense scrutiny from lawmakers, investors, customers and employees over his relationship with Alice Huang, including concerns about whether it put the company's trade secrets at risk, as well as his reported affair with an employee who directly reported to him, according to Bloomberg.
Also Read: Megaspeed, the Singapore-based firm at the heart of the Nvidia 'spying’ row
The developments have also highlighted Nvidia's lack of a succession plan and how closely the company is tied to Huang. Huang is a consummate dealmaker and has used the company’s vast resources to invest in the AI supply chain and a variety of startups.
Nvidia is also at the centre of the technology competition between the United States and China. Any change at the top could draw attention from investors and the wider technology industry.
Nvidia’s shares fall
The reports have also affected Nvidia's stock. The company's shares fell about 9% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.
Nvidia has already lost more than $300 billion in market value since news of the reported affair with Alice Huang first emerged. Investors are now watching closely for any official statement from the company about its CEO's future.
