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[News] Replacing the Irreplaceable: NVIDIA’s Next Moves as CEO Jensen Huang Faces Potential Ouster

What happened

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is facing mounting scrutiny after a second alleged extramarital affair came to light: following earlier reports of his relationship with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, who has been linked to suspicions of Chinese espionage and illicit AI chip transfers, The New York Times has reported another alleged affair involving Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA's vice president of healthcare, who reported directly to him. According to Reuters, citing The Wall Street Journal, NVIDIA's board is reportedly preparing to oust its longtime CEO, with directors expected to meet as early as Wednesday to weigh his future. Per TIME, the board reportedly faced three options: oust him, place him on leave, or issue a reprimand; NVIDIA has no publicly disclosed succession plan, Huang's centralized structure with roughly 60 direct reports makes replacing him particularly challenging, and the board reportedly lacks an experienced former CEO who could step in temporarily. Potential internal successors include longtime CFO Colette Kress (13 years at NVIDIA), hyperscale and HPC chief Ian Buck (a roughly 20-year veteran and key architect of CUDA), and co-founder Chris Malachowsky; among outsiders, The Information named AMD CEO Lisa Su and Arm chief Rene Haas. As of the morning of publication, per Polymarket betting, Ian Buck leads with a 34% implied probability of becoming the next CEO, Colette Kress follows at 27%, Jensen Huang's chances of staying stand at 19%, Rene Haas at 10%, Jay Puri at 4%, Michael Kagan at 3%, Lisa Su at 2%, and Madison Huang at 2%. Reuters notes a departure could create a leadership vacuum at the roughly $4 trillion chip giant; analysts caution that Blackwell demand, the Rubin roadmap, networking expansion and the CUDA ecosystem were established well before the controversy and could sustain revenue momentum over the next 12 to 18 months, while a leadership shake-up could raise questions over NVIDIA's China strategy. The ouster is a reportedly prepared action and has not been confirmed as implemented.