- This work will require as much political savvy as technological expertise, says Axios’ Nathan Bomey. The next CEO will have to contend with regulatory scrutiny, geopolitical tensions and the economic upheaval triggered by the AI boom.
Catch up quickly: Nvidia announced Thursday that CFO Colette Kress would serve as interim CEO following Huang’s departure.
- The board said it would consider both internal and external candidates. Longtime executive Harvey Jones was named Nvidia’s first-ever board chairman following Huang’s departure.
Reality check: Huang has never publicly named a successor, leaving investors and analysts to speculate about who might take the helm.
- In an interview with Bloomberg in October and published Thursday, Huang said he hoped Nvidia’s next CEO was already working at the company.
Here are 11 names that have surfaced in reports and speculation – leading contenders for long shots.
Colette Kress
Kress could stay permanently, with analysts and investors considering her a leading candidate due to her financial expertise, according to Reuters. New Nvidia Chairman Harvey Jones praised Kress for his deep understanding of the company’s business and customers.
- Kress has represented Nvidia on investor calls for more than a decade, making him one of the company’s most recognizable executives.
- She is also the only person, besides Huang, who had high visibility within the company, according to Axios’ Ina Fried. Huang had several dozen direct reports, many of whom oversaw relatively small parts of the company.
Yes, but: His background in finance might raise doubts about whether he can match Huang’s technological prowess.
Ian Buck
Buck is among potential successors have attracted the attention of analysts and investors, Reuters reported, given its engineering expertise and prominent position within Nvidia.
- He is currently the Vice President and General Manager of Hyperscale and High Performance Computing at Nvidia.
- He also helped develop CUDA, Nvidia’s computing platform that made its graphics processors essential to the development of modern AI.
Chris Malachowsky
Malachowsky co-founded Nvidia with Huang in 1993 and helped shape the company’s technology over the next three decades, according to his Nvidia bio page.
- “Malachowsky has been instrumental in managing, defining and driving the company’s core technologies as it has grown from a startup to the global leader in accelerated computing,” the page reads.
- Much of his experience is in engineering and technical leadership.
Yes, but: His role today is less focused on the day-to-day running of the company, which raises the question of whether he wants to take on the CEO role.
Rene Haas
Haas, the CEO of British chip designer Arm Holdings has emerged as an outside competitor due to its experience in the chip industry and previous work at Nvidia, according to multiple reports.
- He is a former Nvidia executive who has the people skills that may be needed as Nvidia faces intense scrutiny from investors and government investigations.
- Nvidia uses Arm processor technology in some products.
Flashback: Nvidia previously attempted to acquire Arm in a $40 billion deal, but the companies abandoned the deal in 2022 due to significant regulatory opposition.
Tim Cook
Former Apple CEO Tim Cook’s name entered succession discussions Thursday after President Trump publicly suggested he take over Nvidia.
- Cook’s notoriety and experience leading one of the world’s largest technology companies have fueled speculation that he could be a dark horse.
- Cook has also been mentioned in prediction market speculation.
Yes, but: It’s unclear whether Cook would want to take the position after recently stepping down as CEO of Apple.
Johnny Srouji
Bloomberg identified SroujiApple’s head of hardware, as another potential successor.
- Before that, he led Apple’s custom chip development for the iPhone, Mac and other Apple devices.
Nikesh Arora
Arora, the CEO of Palo Alto Networks has emerged as a potential successor, with the Economic Times reporting that investors have been pitching its name.
- Arora has led Palo Alto Networks since 2018 and has overseen the company’s expansion into AI-driven cybersecurity.
- He previously served as president and chief operating officer of SoftBank and worked for a decade at Google, according to his official biography.
Yes, but: His experience is largely in cybersecurity and other technology areas, rather than chip development.
Lisa Su
Su led AMD, one of Nvidia’s biggest rivals, for over a decade. Bloomberg identified her as a potential successor given her deep experience in the chip industry.
Yes, but: Su already runs one of Nvidia’s biggest rivals, and she was just named “CEO of the Year” by Yahoo! Finance.
- Ina Fried, Axios chief technology correspondent says Su might prefer to compete with a weakened Nvidia rather than succeed Huang.
Thomas Kurian
Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud could also be considered.
- Kurian oversees cloud infrastructure, enterprise software and AI services, giving him experience with major customers and technologies critical to Nvidia’s business.
Yes, but: His CV shows no experience in chip design.
Pat Gelsinger
The old Intel CEO has decades of semiconductor engineering and leadership experience at one of Nvidia’s long-time competitors.
- Gelsinger has publicly criticized Nvidia’s approach to AI computing, supported its competitors and argued with Huang over the future of chips.
Yes, but: Gelsinger has struggled to make Intel a stronger competitor in AI. His name has surfaced in online speculation, but there is no public indication that Nvidia’s board plans to consider him.
Madison Huang
Madison, Huang’s daughter has emerged as a possible long-term successor, according to a Financial Times article citing close sources.
- She is a senior director working on product marketing for Nvidia’s physical AI business and has been described as a rising star within the company. His name has also appeared in prediction market speculations.
Zoom: Huang’s son Spencer and son-in-law Nico Caprez also work at Nvidia. Caprez, who oversees the growth of global AI infrastructure, was also selected as a potential successor, according to Bloomberg.
Yes, but: Huang’s children hold relatively junior positions compared to Nvidia’s more experienced executives.
- Asked about his daughter’s potential succession in the Bloomberg interview, Huang said Madison and his brother Spencer should win the job rather than inherit it.
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