Nvidia’s board of directors convened Wednesday to decide on ousting co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, with the Trump administration aware that the board is preparing to remove him soon, CBS News and Bloomberg reported. The chipmaker is working with an outside firm to identify a replacement and is weighing appointing an interim chief executive before conducting a broader search, as shares tumbled more than 8% below $158 in extended trading and prediction market odds of Huang’s exit this year surged to 85%.
The board’s move to replace its 33 year leader comes hours after the New York Times reported a second extramarital affair between Huang, 63, and Kimberly Powell, 48, Nvidia’s vice president of health care who reports directly to him. Five former employees told the newspaper about the relationship, with witnesses saying Huang’s security detail detained a bystander who filmed the pair being affectionate at a San Jose hotel during Nvidia’s March conference and offered a nondisclosure agreement.
Directors had initially backed Huang on Sunday when he apologized to staff for an affair with former Megaspeed executive Alice Huang, whom US intelligence agencies suspect was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security. Nvidia’s independent directors on Tuesday retained former acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon H. Kim and law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate whether company secrets or US national security were compromised, while House committee chairs have demanded Huang appear for a closed-door briefing on Nov 18, the day after Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report.
