NVIDIA names Colette Kress interim CEO and opens the search for Huang's successor

Colette Kress is NVIDIA's interim chief executive following Jensen Huang's resignation as president, CEO and director. She also remains executive vice president and chief financial officer while the board searches for a permanent replacement. No permanent successor is named in the announcement.

The SEC filing places the board's acceptance of Huang's resignation and Kress's appointment on November 11, 2026, effective immediately. NVIDIA's public announcement and the originating WIRED report appeared on November 12. Keeping those dates separate avoids treating the reporting day as the date of the board action.

An interim mandate with a separate board chair

NVIDIA says its search will consider internal and external candidates. Kress's appointment therefore establishes who is leading the company during the search, rather than deciding who will hold the role permanently. She has served as CFO since 2013, according to the filing.

The same filing records Harvey C. Jones's appointment as board chair on November 11. NVIDIA describes him as its first chair. These are distinct responsibilities: Kress holds executive leadership while Jones chairs the board overseeing the transition.

The change follows an independent investigation previously announced by the board. A November 10 statement says independent directors retained Joon H. Kim and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct it. That statement does not announce findings. The leadership appointment should not be treated as an investigation result.

Continuity is an operating commitment to follow through

In the transition release, the board says it expects operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption. That is the board's stated expectation, not independent confirmation of every future delivery or product milestone.

For developers and organizations building around NVIDIA systems, the practical implication is to keep project decisions tied to concrete support, shipment and software evidence. The succession announcement identifies the decision-makers; it does not introduce a revised product specification or a new delivery schedule. A claimed change to a particular product would need its own evidence.

NVIDIA has kept its third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on November 17, with an earnings call afterward. The original October 28 notice provides the webcast details, and the transition release confirms the date remains scheduled. That is the next announced public operating checkpoint. It is an opportunity for management to explain execution under the interim structure, not a promise about what the results or successor search will show.