Nvidia Interim CEO Colette Kress Breaks Silence After Jensen Huang's Exit, 'I Believe Deeply In...'
Colette Kress shared her first email to her employees as the interim CEO of Nvidia following Jensen Huang's resignation.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleColette Kress has sent her first message to Nvidia employees since taking over as interim CEO following Jensen Huang's sudden resignation. In an email to staff, the longtime finance chief expressed confidence in the company's future and thanked employees for standing by Nvidia during what she described as an "extraordinarily difficult period".
Her message comes a day after Huang stepped down from the company he co-founded 33 years ago. Nvidia announced on November 12, 2026, that Huang had resigned as president and CEO, amid allegations that his mistress, Alice Huang, could be a Chinese spy.
What did Colette Kress tell Nvidia employees after Jensen Huang's exit?
Kress confirmed that Nvidia would hold a company-wide meeting on November 18, 2026, at 9 am PT (10:30 pm IST), where employees can expect to hear more about the company's direction. In the email, titled "RE: Statement from NVIDIA Board Chair", she acknowledged that the company had been going through a difficult time. Kress wrote:
"The Board, Estaff and I recognize that this has been an extraordinarily difficult period and I want you to know how grateful we are for your resilience, professionalism and continued dedication. Thank you... This company has achieved so much because of the work that all of you bring to it every single day. You are our greatest strength."
The email ended with a thank-you to employees and a promise that the leadership team would share more about the company's future in the coming days.
Colette Kress, 59, is a veteran financial executive with more than 10 years of experience in the company. She joined Nvidia in September 2013 and has been the company’s executive Vice president and chief financial officer, navigating its finances during a time of extraordinary growth.
Before joining Nvidia, Kress spent nearly 25 years working in various finance-related roles at major technology companies, including Cisco, Microsoft, and Texas Instruments. She holds an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. She is reportedly married to former Microsoft executive David Kress, and they have two sons.
Jensen Huang allegedly mocked Colette Kress as a 'deer in the headlights'
Kress's appointment has drawn even more attention because of a reported confrontation with Huang in August 2026. According to The Wall Street Journal, Huang summoned senior finance executives to discuss Nvidia's plans to provide billions of dollars in financial guarantees to smaller cloud and data-center companies that could not afford its expensive chips.
The strategy was intended to help turn those businesses into long-term Nvidia customers. However, Kress reportedly raised questions about the financial risks and how the company should evaluate such deals. During the meeting, Huang allegedly interrupted her presentation and called her a "deer in the headlights". He also reportedly described her as a "reporting CFO", suggesting she was not someone who could help him make strategic decisions.
The reported exchange offered a glimpse into the differences between the two executives. While Huang pushed for aggressive investments in AI infrastructure, Kress and her finance team were more cautious about the potential risks.
Reuters also reported that Kress challenged some of Huang's proposed deals, including a financial backstop for an OpenAI data-center project in Ohio. The proposed commitment was reportedly reduced from USD 250 billion to USD 120 billion.
Despite their reported disagreements, Kress has publicly spoken highly of her former boss. At an awards ceremony in 2018, she described Huang as "visionary" and "essentially egoless". She has also credited him as one of the reasons she was drawn to Nvidia. After his resignation, Kress praised his invaluable contribution to the company in a message to its employees.
Jensen Huang's departure resulted from intense scrutiny over reports of his extramarital relationships, which allegedly weren't limited to Alice Huang, who faces separate allegations of links to Chinese intelligence. Reports also linked the tech mogul to an anonymous Nvidia employee, along with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's Vice President of Healthcare, who reported directly to him. The company's board has launched an independent investigation.
Nvidia's official announcement did not specify a reason for his resignation. The company said it would begin searching for a permanent CEO and expressed confidence in Kress and the existing leadership team.
Neither Jensen nor his wife, Lori, has publicly commented on the affair scandal.
Image courtesy: Nvidia website, Reuters, Just Jared/ AFP
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