Musk says Nvidia will lose key deals without Huang

Nvidia is looking for its first new leader in 33 years. On Thursday, November 12, the board said Jensen Huang had resigned as president, chief executive and director, effective immediately. CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO, according to the company's announcement. The board also named Harvey C. Jones as its first-ever chair and said it will consider internal and external candidates for the permanent job.investor.nvidia.com

Huang left after reports of extramarital affairs, including one with a woman U.S. intelligence suspected of spying for China and another with an executive who reported to him, AP reported. Nvidia shares closed down 4% on the day he resigned, CNN reported. The independent directors plan to keep investigating him even though he has left, NBC News reported.apnews.com+2

Haas approached, Su in the frame

On Friday, the Financial Times reported that Nvidia's board had approached Rene Haas, chief executive of Arm. The FT said Haas is one of several candidates and might not be offered the job or accept it. It described him and AMD CEO Lisa Su as among the few outsiders who could step in. Haas worked at Nvidia for seven years before joining Arm. Su is Huang's first cousin and has turned AMD into Nvidia's strongest rival, Newsweek noted.newsweek.com+1

The board pushed back on the report. It said it is still choosing a search firm, has "not formally engaged any potential candidates," and that "any speculation regarding individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature," Reuters reported. Arm shares fell about 6% after the FT story, Business Insider reported. Other names in circulation include Kress, CUDA architect Ian Buck, and Apple hardware chief Johny Srouji, The Verge reported.theverge.com+2

Musk warns of handshake deals

On Saturday, Elon Musk said in a post on X that Nvidia would lose "critical" deals without Huang. "Jensen drove supply chain brilliantly at Nvidia, but many of those deals were a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract," Musk wrote, adding, "Without Jensen, at least some of those critical deals will be lost," The Hill reported. Reuters, via U.S. News, also carried the remarks.money.usnews.com+1

Earnings and Congress next

Some employees on Nvidia's internal messaging system have pushed for Huang to be brought back, according to The Jerusalem Post, which cited leaked posts. Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17, according to the company. Congressional committees have also asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing on November 18, the BBC reported.bbc.com+2

The board's statement said it expects "operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption." Musk's warning points to the risk that some of those commitments depended on Huang himself, CNBC reported.cnbc.com