• Analysis
Nvidia board Jensen Huang: directors weigh ouster as successor search advances
Nvidia's board met late Wednesday to decide whether to oust CEO Jensen Huang, a source familiar with the matter said, while Bloomberg reported the directors have been working with an outside firm to identify potential replacements.
How the board can remove Huang
The procedural bar for an ouster is low. Under Nvidia's bylaws, Huang can be removed with or without cause by a majority vote of directors, and the company has 11 directors, all of whom it considers independent except Huang himself. That means the Nvidia board weighing Jensen Huang's future would not need his own vote to act.
The ingredients of a removal vote are therefore:
- •a majority of the 11 sitting directors
- •no requirement to establish cause
- •Huang the only director the company does not class as independent
Who could replace Huang
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the board has been working with an outside firm to identify potential replacements for Huang, signalling that the succession question goes beyond the current meeting.
Names in play come from two directions. Armina Rosenberg, portfolio manager and co-founder of Minotaur Capital, which holds Nvidia shares, said Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress, who has held the role for more than a decade, would be the natural choice as an interim CEO. On the prediction market Polymarket, odds shifted to show an 88% chance Huang would resign or be removed by the end of the year, with Ian Buck favored as successor; Buck oversees the business that serves Nvidia's data centre clients.
Losing Jensen would be a real blow.
Rosenberg also said the market is starting to price Nvidia without its founder as the likely outcome, not a tail risk.
What led to the meeting
Wednesday's session marks a sharp shift from Sunday, when Nvidia's board expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team. Reports of two extramarital affairs and an investigation into alleged links to a Chinese spy have fueled a market sell-off and raised leadership questions. In a Sunday memo to employees, Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and took full responsibility, giving no details. The revelations prompted the board to launch an internal investigation and hire outside counsel, while lawmakers pushed for tighter chip export curbs to China.
What comes next
Huang, 63, has no obvious successor and owns about 3.6% of Nvidia's stock, with dozens of direct reports. The company's quarterly results are due on November 17, days after the board meeting. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the board meeting.
