Kress, Buck seen as front-runners if Nvidia ousts Huang

Nvidia has never named a successor to Jensen Huang, who co-founded the company in 1993. Analysts and investors now point to two internal candidates, chief financial officer Colette Kress and longtime engineer Ian Buck, while the company's board decides whether to remove its CEO. Huang has never anointed a successor, Reuters reported, but many on Wall Street see Kress and Buck as the likeliest choices, at least for the short term.reuters.com

The board met late on Wednesday, November 11, to decide whether to oust Huang, a source told Reuters. The meeting followed reports of two extramarital affairs. One involved a businesswoman alleged to be a Chinese spy. The New York Times reported the other, with an executive who reported directly to Huang. As of Thursday morning, no decision had been announced.thenextweb.com+1

The interim option

Kress, 59, joined Nvidia in 2013 after working at Microsoft, Cisco and Texas Instruments. She appears alongside Huang on earnings calls, and some board members favor her as interim CEO, according to Semafor as cited by Reuters. "Colette Kress is the obvious choice to steady the ship," said Josh Gilbert of eToro. He added that for the permanent job, "the board would likely want an engineer in the chair." D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria called Kress the company's only other highly visible executive, Business Insider reported.businessinsider.com+1

Bloomberg reported that the board has been working with an outside firm to find replacements and is considering an interim chief, according to the BBC.bbc.com

The engineer and other names

Buck joined Nvidia in 2004 and helped lead development of CUDA, the software platform that keeps developers using Nvidia chips. He now runs products for hyperscale AI, according to Reuters. Shay Boloor of Futurum Equities called Buck "the strongest long-term internal candidate." He also named Arm CEO Rene Haas, a former Nvidia employee of seven years, as an outside option, Reuters reported. Armina Rosenberg of Minotaur Capital suggested a co-CEO setup that would pair Kress on finances with Buck on products.reuters.com+1

The BBC pointed to co-founder Chris Malachowsky, who has worked on product engineering since the company's founding and is the only executive with tenure comparable to Huang's. The broadcaster said Huang's children, who hold management roles at Nvidia, are relatively young, and that a permanent successor would likely come from outside, per BBC Chinese.bbc.com

Pressure before earnings

Nvidia has lost about $600 billion in market value since the board announced its investigation on November 8, according to Reuters. The company is due to report quarterly results on Tuesday, November 17, Korea Times reported. "Mr. Huang being removed immediately could be challenging for Nvidia since it does not have a succession plan in place," Luria told Reuters.koreatimes.co.kr+1