Jensen Huang, whom Nvidia’s board describes as the company’s founder, has resigned as the company’s CEO. Here is what Nvidia has said, who runs the company now, why it matters for AI chips and index funds, and what to watch next. Everything below is as of 14 November 2026 and sticks to what the company, its SEC filing and major outlets have reported.
What happened
On 12 November 2026, Nvidia announced that “Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately.” The company filed a Form 8-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission the same day. The filing says the board accepted the resignation on 11 November 2026.
The key points from the press release and filing:
- Interim CEO: Colette Kress, Nvidia’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has agreed to serve as Interim CEO. She keeps her CFO role until a permanent successor is named.
- New board chair: The board appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever Chair of the Board. According to the 8-K, Jones has been an Nvidia director since 1993.
- Successor search: The board is starting a search for a permanent CEO and says it will consider internal and external candidates. No timeline was given.
- Thanks to Huang: The release says, “The Board and the company thank Jensen for his immeasurable contributions to the company and the industry.”
What the company has said about the reason
Neither the press release nor the 8-K gives a reason for the resignation, and the filing does not mention any disagreement with the company or the board.
The resignation followed two earlier board statements, which Nvidia published on its newsroom:
- On 8 November 2026, the board said it was starting an independent investigation “in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” The board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised” and that Huang supported the review.
- On 10 November 2026, the independent directors said they had hired Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to carry out the investigation.
As of 14 November 2026, Nvidia has not published any findings from that investigation. Major outlets, including CNBC, have reported further details about the circumstances. Nvidia has not linked those reports to the resignation, so this article leaves them out.
Who is running Nvidia now
Colette Kress is now both interim CEO and CFO. The 8-K says she is 59 and has been CFO since 2013. She signed the 8-K in both roles.
In the release, Jones said, “The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team,” and that “we expect the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption.” Kress said, “Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.”
Separating the chair and CEO roles is a governance change in its own right. Until this week, Nvidia had never had a board chair.
Why it matters
For the company
Huang led Nvidia as CEO while its graphics chips became central to AI computing. A founder leaving suddenly, without a named successor, raises questions about strategy and execution even when day-to-day operations continue. CNBC reported that several Wall Street analysts cut their price targets after the announcement. Some kept positive ratings, and one firm downgraded the stock.
For AI chip supply
Nvidia’s chips power a large share of the data centers used to train and run AI models, including the tools many people now use at work (see our guide to setting up ChatGPT Business for your team). The company has not announced any changes to products, shipments or customer contracts. Its only official statement on the subject is the board’s expectation that operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap will continue without interruption.
If you run AI models on your own Nvidia graphics card, for example with Ollama on your own computer, nothing about your hardware or drivers changes because of a leadership change.
For the stock and ordinary investors
According to CNBC’s live coverage, Nvidia shares fell more than 13% at the open on Thursday 12 November, hit a new 52-week low early in the day, and then recovered part of the loss to close down 4.3%. TechCrunch also reported a drop of nearly 12% in early trading. Shares of some companies closely tied to Nvidia, including the cloud providers CoreWeave and Nebius, also fell that day, according to TechCrunch.
This matters even if you have never bought Nvidia shares directly. Nvidia is one of the largest companies in the US market, so broad index funds hold a lot of it. CNBC reported that the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF had about 8.4% of its assets in Nvidia as of 30 September. Because index funds weight holdings by company size, a big move in Nvidia shows up in an S&P 500 fund, but only in proportion to that weight. A 10% drop in Nvidia, with everything else flat, would move a fund holding about 8% Nvidia by roughly 0.8%.
Short-term moves like this are different from the long-run growth that matters for retirement savings. Our explainer on compound interest covers why time in the market tends to matter more than any one week. This is general information, not investment advice.
Legal proceedings
The Associated Press reported on 10 November that a shareholder had filed a proposed securities class action against Nvidia and Huang in a California court. That lawsuit was filed before the resignation was announced. Its claims have not been tested in court, and Nvidia had not commented publicly when AP reported the filing.
What we know and what we don’t
Known (from Nvidia’s own statements and filing):
- Huang resigned as president, CEO and director. The board accepted the resignation on 11 November and announced it on 12 November 2026.
- Colette Kress is interim CEO and remains CFO.
- Harvey C. Jones is the board’s first chair.
- The board is searching for a permanent CEO and will look at internal and external candidates.
- An independent board investigation, announced on 8 November, is underway with outside counsel.
- Third-quarter results are still scheduled for 17 November.
Not known yet:
- Who the permanent CEO will be, or when one will be named.
- What the board investigation will conclude, or whether its findings will be made public.
- Whether Huang will keep any role at the company. The announcement describes none.
- The terms of Huang’s departure. The 8-K discloses no severance or compensation details.
- Whether the leadership change will affect Nvidia’s financial outlook.
What to watch next
- Earnings on Tuesday 17 November 2026. Nvidia says it will report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific Time, “as previously scheduled,” with a conference call at 2 p.m. PT. This will be the first earnings report and call under interim leadership. Listen for any change to guidance and any update on the CEO search.
- CEO search updates. A permanent appointment would typically be announced by press release and reported in an 8-K filing.
- Investigation updates. The board said on 8 November that it “will provide further updates as appropriate.”
Common questions
Is Jensen Huang still on Nvidia’s board? No. The announcement says he resigned as a member of the board as well as president and CEO.
Why did he resign? Nvidia has not given a reason in its press release or its SEC filing. The filing does not mention any disagreement with the company.
Who is in charge of Nvidia right now? CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO, and Harvey C. Jones chairs the board.
Is the earnings report still happening? Yes. Nvidia says it will report on 17 November 2026 as previously scheduled.
Should I sell my index fund? We can’t give investment advice. It helps to know how much of your fund is in Nvidia, which you can usually find on the fund’s holdings page, and to remember that index funds are built to spread risk across hundreds of companies. If you are unsure, talk to a licensed financial adviser.
Wrap-up
As of 14 November 2026, the confirmed facts are short: Huang has resigned from all his roles, Colette Kress is running the company on an interim basis, Harvey Jones chairs the board, and a search for a permanent CEO has started. The company has not given a reason, and the board’s investigation has not reported any findings. The next official milestone is the 17 November earnings report, which should give the first look at how Nvidia plans to operate under interim leadership.
Sources
- NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition (press release, 12 November 2026)
- NVIDIA Form 8-K, 12 November 2026 (SEC EDGAR)
- Exhibit 99.1 press release attached to the 8-K (SEC EDGAR)
- Statement From NVIDIA Board of Directors (8 November 2026)
- NVIDIA Newsroom
- CNBC live updates on Huang’s resignation
- TechCrunch: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang resigns, names CFO Colette Kress interim CEO
- AP via Anchorage Daily News: shareholder lawsuit against Nvidia and Huang
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