Nvidia The company’s board of directors told CNBC it has not yet selected a search firm to help identify a replacement for former CEO Jensen Huang.
“We are in the process of selecting a search firm to fill the CEO position at Nvidia,” the board said in a statement Friday. “We have not formally signed any potential candidates.”
The comments came after speculation arose over who would be chosen to replace Mr. Hwang. Nvidia announced Thursday that Huang will step down as the chipmaker’s CEO following multiple reports of extramarital affairs, including one with an alleged Chinese spy.
Nvidia has named CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO and will begin the search for a permanent CEO to replace Huang, the company said, adding that it will consider both internal and external candidates.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that NVIDIA’s board had approached. arm Citing people familiar with the matter, CEO Rene Haas said the company is currently searching for a successor to Hwang.
“Any speculation regarding individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature,” Nvidia’s board said in a statement.
Before joining the SoftBank-backed semiconductor company in 2013, Haas spent seven years at Nvidia, holding various positions including vice president of its computing products business.
Nvidia shares fell more than 2% on Friday, pushing the company’s market capitalization below $4 trillion as investors digested the news of Huang’s resignation and concerns about the continuing investigation into his conduct.
Nvidia announced Tuesday that it has hired Wachtell Lipton to investigate allegations that Fang was the target of foreign intelligence, following revelations that its then-CEO had a close relationship with Alice Fang, who multiple news outlets reported was suspected of working for Chinese intelligence.
Three House committees requested that Mr. Hwang appear in a closed session on November 18th. The Senate Banking Committee also asked Mr. Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify to discuss “serious concerns about our national security” and how the company’s top AI chips allegedly ended up in China.
