It’s almost inconceivable that Nvidia would fire its rockstar CEO. But we are about to see this happen. In Calci, Jensen Huang’s chances of surviving this week remain at a low 30%. Even though he has built one of the most valuable companies in the world, and many would argue dangerously powerful, the tide is completely against him. He has confessed to having an affair, but as of Wednesday afternoon it was unclear who he was referring to. Alice Huang, a Chinese executive suspected by U.S. intelligence agencies of spying for her home country, and Kimberly Powell, an Nvidia executive who reports to him, are also said to have had affairs, five people familiar with the matter told The New York Times in a shocking new report.
Even if Hwang were to be ousted as CEO, it is unlikely that the board members he helped make into millionaires would completely remove him. Unless he drops the shoe again, they may keep him as chairman, a role NVIDIA doesn’t currently have. But someone still has to run the company, and with no clear succession plan, we’re left guessing and waiting like everyone else, wondering what will happen next. While Hwang’s 60 direct reports are undoubtedly under scrutiny, consider this our own parlor game, featuring obvious and not-so-obvious candidates.
Lisa Sue. AMD’s CEO is Nvidia’s most staunch rival and a distant cousin of Huang. Her name surfaced in the Information this week, but why did she quit her job for him? Her company stands to benefit from every day Nvidia spends distracted by investigations, Congressional meetings, and all the mini-dramas that are sure to follow. Her best bet might be to send a nice note and keep her current corner office.
Eric Schmidt. He was chosen by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, who I spoke to earlier this week. Schmidt “will parachute in tomorrow and do a very good job,” Sonnenfeld said. He ran Google from 2001 to 2011, chaired the National Security Council on AI from 2018 to 2021, and currently runs the rocket company Relativity Space. These range from chips, software, government agencies, and rockets. Once again, Schmidt brings a lot of baggage with him when it comes to his own extramarital activities. It’s hard to see him clearing the board for that reason.
Lip button. Intel’s CEO is familiar with chips and may welcome a very soft landing at this point. Intel last month reported a 21% increase in third-quarter revenue to $16.5 billion, but later warned that fourth-quarter results would fall below Wall Street expectations. The AI boom has caused a memory chip shortage, pushing up PC prices and reducing PC sales. This was a blow to Intel, whose PC chips are a big part of its business, with its stock plummeting 20% in after-hours trading following the warning and had already fallen more than 30% since September. Moving to a company that eats everyone’s lunch would be a great escape.
Brett Taylor. The former Salesforce co-CEO and OpenAI board chairman currently runs AI startup Sierra, and his resume includes many of Silicon Valley’s biggest brands. He co-developed Google Maps, served as CTO of Facebook, and chaired Twitter’s board through its sale to Elon Musk. He then became OpenAI’s chairman of the board after the “blip” in which Sam Altman was fired and quickly reinstated. When companies need an unwavering, likable adult in their company, they call Taylor. He probably knows almost all of Nvidia’s customers.
Ian Buck. If the board feels so strongly that it wants “builders” to take control, it could do worse than the Nvidia vice president who helped develop CUDA, the chip software that was central to Nvidia’s dominance in AI. Analysts and former employees have floated him as a possible successor, but Kalsi traders give him a moderate rating. Although he is not well-known, if Hwang can keep his title as chairman and push for a successor with whom he can work together, his chances of getting a PhD from Stanford will improve even further.
There’s someone else across the hallway. Andrew Bell, Nvidia’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, joined the company 25 years ago as a Cornell graduate and has continued his upward trajectory at the company ever since. Like Buck and likely dozens of other executives under scrutiny, he will report directly to fans. The most commonly named insider is NVIDIA CFO Colette Kress, but analysts say she’s not necessarily a natural successor as an innovator and visionary, and Bell has a chip pedigree.
Wild card? Laurie fan. No one is talking about her, but hear me out. Jensen met his wife as a research partner at Oregon State University, so she’s been working with him since before Nvidia existed. After graduating, she worked as a microchip engineer at Silicon Graphics (where she reportedly earned more than her husband), then scaled back to support the couple’s family and is now co-chair of a family trust. If the board wants continuity, it could do worse than the humble Mr. Hwang, who is also a smart man. There’s a reason they say that behind every great man is a great woman (and vice versa).
Whatever happens next, we’ll know soon enough.
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